Less rural residents are planning to buy houses in the near future, a survey released by the People's Bank of China (PBC), the country's central bank, on Wednesday.

 

The survey conducted by the bank among rural depositors shows that 18.2 percent of rural residents, a record-low figure, are intending to buy houses in the coming three months, down one and 3.8 percentage points from the last quarter and the same period of last year respectively.

 

Among the seven cities in the survey, the number of residents planning to buy houses in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin witnessed a dramatic drop.

 

Last year, after the enforcement of a series of macro-control measures, the soaring house prices in some Chinese cities is under control to some extent.

 

The survey shows that residents are more cautious in their daily consumption, due to some uncertainties about the future and the cooling of overheated consumption of houses and cars.

 

Saving for children's education is ranked at the top of residents' saving incentives, followed by saving for old age, housing and unexpected accidents.

 

The consumption of houses and cars is cooling down in China after the frenzy from 2002 to 2004. About 9.8 percent of residents are considering purchasing cars in the next three months, 0.1 and 0.5 percent down from the last quarter and the same period of last year respectively.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2006)