Emeute du logement à Hangzhou 杭州 (Zhejiang 浙江) – 8 janvier 2011

Real Estate Rage Erupts in Hangzhou

blogs.wsj.com

January 11, 2011,

A week after a story by China’s state broadcaster on affordable housing in Beijing set off a round of riotous complaints, a real riot over real estate erupted in the southern city of Hangzhou.

On Saturday fights broke out among hundreds of would be homeowners who had flocked to the opening of a new residential compound in Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang province, local media reported yesterday.

One man was hospitalized after being beaten into a coma by angry aspirants looking to buy apartments in the Deyi Konggang International Garden residential compound near the city’s international airport, according the Hangzhou-based Youth Times (in Chinese).

The violence is the latest indication of just how out-of-control China’s property market remains, especially in upscale cities like Hangzhou, despite government efforts to cool the sector.

At the complex developed by the firm Dandy Holding Group Co. there were 448 apartments available in four buildings being offered at an average price of 8,000 yuan ($1,200) per square meter.

Potential buyers told the Youth Times that they had been instructed to pick up lottery numbers at a sales office before the weekend to determine the order in which they would be allowed to bid on apartments. Due to the cold weather potential buyers were seated on complimentary buses according to their number, but the company had apparently given out more tickets than there were units to buy, which led to the scuffle and complaints of preferential treatment. Read more…

Hundreds of homebuyers brawl over apartments with developer

China Daily

Tue, Jan 11, 2011

SHANGHAI – Hundreds of hopeful homebuyers brawled in Zhejiang’s provincial capital of Hangzhou on Saturday over suspicions a property developer had unfairly distributed numbers determining the order of apartments’ selection and purchase.

The opening of Deyi Konggang International Garden residential compound, located near the Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, attracted hundreds of hopeful purchasers, who confronted the developer, Dandy Holding Group Co, and demanded the numbers be redistributed.

One man was rushed to the hospital after he was beaten into a coma during the conflict, which occurred at a European-style house where the transactions were made, the Hangzhou-based Youth Times reported on Sunday.

Local police told China Daily the physical violence had ended by the time law enforcement arrived and that police are investigating the matter.

The developer declined to comment on Sunday.

The incident highlighted the home-buying frenzy that has been accelerating as property prices continue soaring nationwide. Similar but smaller conflicts have been taking place across the country.

The Hangzhou project attracted a large number of prospective buyers , because it offered a limited number of relatively inexpensive apartments in the city, where housing prices are among the country’s highest. Read more…

-China Daily/Asia News Network

Man left in a coma after apartment buyers riot in China

financialpost.com

Joe Weisenthal, Business Insider · Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011

There were riots in Hangzhou City, China this week after prospective apartment buyers suspected a housing developer of unfairly distributing numbers determining the order by which apartments could be selected.

According to China Daily, the opening of Deyi Konggang International Garden caused violence and left one man in a coma.

Apparently buyers were told to line up in the cold on Thursday night to visit the apartments, but they became suspicious that some other buyers had been tipped off by the developer to arrive earlier.

In addition to surging prices, stories like this one, and the state-paid shill who touted low-income housing on TV add some good anecdotal evidence to the existence of a bubble.

Informations

Hangzhou (杭州) est la capitale de la province chinoise du Zhejiang浙江. La ville est située au fond de la baie de Hangzhou, à 200 kilomètres au sud-ouest de Shanghaï, et a le statut administratif de ville sous-provinciale. En 2001, sa population était estimée à 1 932 600 habitants. On y parle un dialecte du wu appelé 杭州话 (Hángzhōuhuà).