THE prices of apartments near the city s most reputable schools have soared to up to 50,000 yuan (US$7,612) per square meter with parents vying to secure a place for their children in these schools.
Such housing attracts a lot of attention each year because parents always try to send their children to the best primary and middle schools to lay solid foundations for their future study, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported. The prices have shown a constantly upward trend, the paper said.
Baihua Subdistrict in Futian, where Shenzhen Experimental School s primary and middle school sections are located, is popular thanks to its vantage location. Homeowners of residential compounds including Guochen Garden and Nantian er Garden in the subdistrict are offered places at Shenzhen Experimental School.
A 44-square-meter apartment in Guochen Garden, which was built in 1996, was being sold for 2.2 million yuan, or 50,000 yuan per square meter, up more than 20 percent compared with last year s price, real estate agencies said. But agencies have said that there were currently only five apartments available for sale.
It is commonplace for parents to buy apartments there for a place at the school but not for living. After their children were enrolled, they would rent the apartment out or sell it, according to the agencies.
A parent surnamed Zhang used to live in a 200-square-meter duplex apartment in Meilin in Futian District, but now his family is living in a 50-square-meter home in Baihua Subdistrict to let his child study at Shenzhen Experimental School.
The raising of our child is the most important thing to us, not to mention that living in such a small apartment has also earned me some money since I bought it at 18,000 yuan per square meter, he said.
Apartments located close to Shenzhen Senior High School were also very popular. Among the over 10,000 apartments near the school, only 15 were available for sale and the prices were between 20,000 and 50,000 yuan per square meter.
Popular housing also included those close to Hongling Middle School, Lianhua Middle School and Nanshan Experimental School, with their prices ranging from 25,000 to 30,000 yuan per square meter.
Real estate agencies said the surging prices could be attributed to the booming housing market and the effect of reputable schools.
Currently, the municipal government, in an attempt to create a fairer system, is merging schools to offer more places at reputable institutions.
(Jane Lai)
