It's an area of the Chinese economy which has long been looked upon as one of the main drivers of internal demand.  And recent data shows that China's housing market is showing a major resurgence.  The Centiline Property Agency is reporting that this country's ten main property developers increased their land holdings by 74 percent in June compared to the previous year.  The National Bureau of Statistics has reported the first half of this year saw some 1.45 trillion Yuan was invested in the property development market, an increase of 9.9 percent year-on-year. The residential development side of this equation amounted to some 1.02 trillion Yuan.  Meanwhile, this buying spree is sparking concerns about the creation of a property bubble.  Here in the capital, as an example, residential housing prices in the central business district, in the course of a week, rose some 6.5 percent according to one brokerage firm.  So what is fueling this revived rise in real estate? 

Ni hao, you're listening to  People In the Know, your window into the world around you, online at crienglish.com here on China Radio International.  In this edition of our show we're talking about China's housing market.  So let's get started.

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First we'll hear from a Chinese expert.  Professor Chen Jie is the Deputy Director of the Fudan Housing Policy Research Center at Fudan University in Shanghai.

(Dialogue with Chen)

And after a short break, we'll talk to a foreign market analyst.

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Ni hao, you're listening to  People In the Know, your window into the world around you, online at crienglish.com here on China Radio International.   I’m Paul James in Beijing.  In this edition of the show we're discussing China's housing market.  For more on this we're joined on the line now by Mr. Michael Klibaner, National Director and Head of Research for Jones, Lang, LaSalle out of Shanghai.

(Dialogue with Klibaner)

And with that we close out this edition of  People In the Know, online at crienglish.com here on China Radio International.  With the growing rise in housing prices, one hopes that the average person out there doesn't find themselves priced out of the market.  Questions or comments for us can be sent to people@cri.com.cn.  You can also catch our program on your mobile phone now by logging onto M.CRI.CN.  For Producers Chen Mo and Xu Yang and Interns Lu Jia and Wang Yating, I'm Paul James in Beijing.  We'll talk to you tomorrow.