It is barely a year until the Olympics hit Beijing, and while China’s
communist government battles with diplomatic sensitivities such as the
passage of the Olympic torch through Tibet, the city’s residents are
obsessed by more capitalist concerns: how much can they let their homes for?
Some 2m tourists – 500,000 of them from overseas – are expected to descend on
the city for the Games, which take place from August 8 to 24, but there
won’t be enough hotel beds to go around. Enterprising residents and
investors see the situation as a golden opportunity to make money.
Julian Fisher, 25, a history teacher from London who has been working in the
Chinese capital for two years, has already sublet his one-bedroom flat in
the city centre to Lee Rindge, 46, an Olympics fan from Texas. They made
contact through an internet property forum. “We found each other on
www.beijingcommunity.com,” says Fisher. “He said hotels were charging up to
£400 a day, so I offered my flat for £150 a day for two weeks.”
Fisher pays only £200 a month to his Chinese landlady, and subletting is not
permitted under his contract. However, he says, the practice is widespread
among foreigners in the city. “I don’t feel bad about not sharing the money
with my landlady because, as a foreigner, I pay twice as much as a Chinese
person would.”
Fisher, who is throwing in internet access, all bills and the services of his
house maid, is not the only person using the web to find western tourists
looking for a place to stay. Last month, Piet Bos, a Dutch tour operator who
has lived in Beijing for nine years, launched www.homestaybeijing2008.com,
which matches tourists to English-speakers willing to let their homes.
For a refundable deposit of £21, would-be landlords can register the property
or room they want to rent out on the database. Although, so far, only a
handful have done so, Bos, 37, is sure his scheme will take off, as he
thinks the Chinese capital’s location hinders its ability to cope with the
influx of visitors.
“Unlike Barcelona, Sydney, Athens or even London, Beijing has no port or
harbour,” he says. “So it won’t be possible to use cruise liners to provide
added accommodation. The city has no facilities for camping and there aren’t
any nearby towns from which people can commute. Beijingers need to realise
they can make a serious profit from subletting during the Olympics, but only
if they act now.”
The average rent in the city is about £100 a month, but flats in complexes
built for foreign residents, which have gyms, pools and 24-hour
English-speaking security, are often let for £2,500 or more a month. Bos
believes that residents who lease or sublet their properties could easily
get three times that while the Games are on. “Tailor the package you offer –
throw in your house maid, your car and a translator – and you can make even
more money.”
One of the first to register his home on Bos’s site was Mark Moss, 28, an
Australian businessman who has lived in Beijing for six years. The
two-bedroom flat is in the Lido area, in the northeast, a 10-minute drive
from the main stadium. Moss, who lives there with his wife and daughter, is
asking for about £130 a day.
“We were in Sydney for the 2000 Olympics,” he says. “We could have rented our
house, but chose not to. This time, we don’t want to miss out.”
It is not just expatriates who see the Games as an opportunity to make money.
Eileen Wen Mooney, 55, a food critic for Time Out Beijing, has let the
two-bedroom city-centre house she owns to an American friend; she will
collect £2,500 for two weeks. She says she is fortunate to have
international connections, and admits that her Chinese friends would also
rent out their homes given the chance. “I can’t believe all these people are
so desperate to be here,” she says. “Personally, I’m going to use the money
to go on holiday to Bali.”
Such money-making ventures will give quick profits, but what of the
longer-term prospects for the market in the Chinese capital? Figures from
the Beijing Statistics Bureau reveal that prices for residential property
have risen by 42% in the past three years and 9% in the first quarter of
this year alone. In April, a Russian property mogul paid £7m for a
traditional courtyard house, a record price for a residence in the city.
Although only 1.1% of residential property in Beijing is owned by foreigners,
interest in buying is strong and shows no sign of abating, despite the
government’s efforts to cool the situation. Earlier this year, changes to
rules on residential property ownership made it easier and safer for
foreigners to buy, but they must still have lived in China for a year before
they can do so.
A post-Olympic slump has been predicted, but Nick Jones, the general manager
of Knight Frank’s Beijing office, believes that foreign interest will not
wane. “A combination of low interest rates and expectations of further
appreciation of the yen make China’s real-estate sector attractive,” he
says. “The market shows no serious sign of slowing down in the foreseeable
future.”
To
search for properties in China on propertyfinder.com click here
