The Richest Industry and an Industry for the Rich
Starting in the late 1990s, China started to switch from a welfare-oriented public housing distribution system to commercialized housing. As homeownership rates have skyrocketed, real estate prices have been rising from several hundred yuan per square meter to 2,800 yuan (US$337) per square meter. According to the Shanghai Statistics Bureau, the price of Shanghai commodity housing in 2004 was 6,385 yuan (US$769) per square meter, 14.6% higher than that of 2003, while marketing companies estimated it to be 7,472 yuan (US$900) per square meter.