REAL ESTATE Are Home Lenders Pumping Up a Bubble?

摘要

Tina Zhao is about to become the proud owner of her first apartment, a small-but-comfortable, 500-square-feet toehold near Beijing's West Railway station. The 25-year-old has already plunked down a $12,000 downpayment for the place, and now she's waiting for approval of an $18,000, 20-year mortgage from China's Minsheng Bank. While loan applicants in some countries might be biting their nails at this point, Zhao says she has been assured that she'll get the money for her $30,000 apartment in less than a month. Best of all, the only information the bank asked for was her salary, with no credit check. "It's very easy, there was no strict procedure for this at all," says Zhao, who works as an engineer at a local electronics company.