CRI听力:Pawn to Buy Property Popular

With the tax exemption policy on second-hand real estate coming to an end this year, many second-hand property owners as well as purchasers are busy with transfer procedures. Some people even have their property pawned to boost the capital turnover. Li Dong has the details.



Miss Liu lives in Chongqing. The soaring real estate prices already give her lot of pressure. The soon-to-end second-hand property tax exemption policy makes her feel uneasy.

"I've heard the transaction tax will be raised next year. Real estate is really crazy these days. Sometimes the price even rises daily."

A salesgirl at a real estate company says many property owners hope their properties can be sold at higher prices.(www.hXen.com)

"A lot of property owners are reluctant to sell their houses at this moment. They always hope the sold price can be higher and higher than their expectation. The price changes fast. In half a month, the price may rise by about 5 to 10 percent."

To catch up with the last train of tax exemptions before the end of the year, some purchasers choose to have one property they already own pawned to raise some money. Mr. Yang is one of them. He lives in Beijing, and he has decided to do so to buy another house. He says it can be a reasonable choice.

"I pawned my house for 500 thousand yuan, and I should pay 16 thousand yuan each month to the pawn shop. Based on the rising market quotation, I won't lose much money for the pawned one. But I will have to pay thousands of yuan if I delay paying off the new house several months. Plus, the owner is still raising the price. I worry I won't be able to buy it."

Yang Jingkun, business director of Hua Xia Pawnshop says the property pawn business is on the rise recently.

"In November, the property pawn business in our company rose by 50 percent compared with last month or the same period last year. The percentage is even higher this month."

According to the law, only the property with full ownership can be pawned. Currently in Beijing, the property pawn interest rate is about 3.2 percent. Which means, for a 1 million yuan property pawn deal, owners need to pay 32 thousand yuan to the pawnshop each month.

Some experts point out that people should be aware of the potential risks due to the uncertainties in the real estate market. They should be cautious with the "pawn to buy" decision.

Li Dong, CRI News.