Consumption in housing registered a stable growth. For the first time in seven years, the demand surpassed supply in housing during the first season this year, with the demand-to-supply ratio hitting 1.06/1.0. The index for real estate has climbed up a little as well.

An official survey shows that housing consumption will continue to be the first target for local consumers in the coming years.

During the first half of this year, the growth rate for consumption in such service areas like medical care and education far exceeded that in consumption of real commodities.

The private car market has kicked off as well. The sales volume of cars in Shanghai has almost doubled during the first season. A survey shows that 94 percent of Shanghai residents are looking forward to buying their own cars, with 17 percent of them anticipating their purchase within two years and 66 percent within five years.

The need for information and Internet services is expected to grow to a new high in Shanghai. Experts predicted that the consumption volume in Internet-related areas will exceed 20 billion yuan in five years.

（People’s Daily 11/06/2000）