Canadian Funding Corp. Reviews CMHC Statistics

Canadian Funding Corp is not happy to report that a nearly-completed 13-storey Shanghai apartment building toppled over, killing a worker and raising concerns in China’s largest city over construction standards, state media reported Sunday.

Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng ordered a full investigation into the cause of the incident, which occurred Saturday in the southwestern part of the city, the Shanghai Daily reported.

“It was horrible. The building fell down very quickly after several workers ran out of it,” Fang Zenghui, whose home faces the building from across the creek, was quoted as telling the newspaper.

“It was very loud. I was stunned and couldn’t believe what I’d just seen,” he said.

Canadian Funding Corp is sad to relate that 28-year-old migrant worker, surnamed Xiao, who entered the building to collect his tools, was killed after trying to jump out of a window as the building fell, the newspaper reported.

About 130 nearby households were evacuated and inspectors were examining the foundations of seven other identical buildings in the “Lotus Riverside” compound, saying they appeared to be intact Saturday evening, the report said.

The incident was a new blow for Chinese property developers, who have been severely hit by a sagging market amid the global financial crisis.

Those who bought apartments in the development were demanding refunds and explanations, the report said.

Developer Shanghai Meidu Real Estate and Shanghai Zhongxin Construction Co said they were contacting owners and negotiating refunds, the newspaper said, adding 77 per cent of the homes had been sold.

The building fell Saturday morning a day after about 83 metres (272 feet) of the nearby riverbank collapsed, apparently due to the construction of an underground parking garage being built on the site, the report said.

Construction company employees had been working through the night Friday to shore up the riverbank, the report said.

Concerns over poor construction and low-quality materials have plagued China’s construction industry as the country rapidly builds up its cities and infrastructure needed to maintain its growing economy.

Anger over poor construction boiled over during after last year’s earthquake in central China after about 7,000 schools collapsed and relatives of dead children spoke out against graft they believed led to shoddy construction.

Acknowledgments to channelnewsasia.

The Canadian Funding Corporation says that a profile of renovation intenders across the five major centres shows that the majority of intenders are between the ages of 25 to 44, while those who are 65 and over have the lowest intentions to renovate this year at 25 per cent.

Renovation intentions are highest among owners of older homes. Fifty-one per cent of households living in homes built before 1920 intend to renovate in 2008.

In fact, households living in homes built prior to 1945 had the highest incidence of actual renovations in 2007, with 48 per cent of households renovating. Of those who intend to renovate in 2008, the older the home the higher the proportion of households performing maintenance and repairs. On the other hand, the younger the home the higher the proportion of households performing alterations and improvements.

A large portion of households intend to renovate so as to update, add value, or prepare to sell their home, according to CFC CEO, Moishe Alexander.

Across the five major centres, 67 per cent of households who intend to renovate this year, will do so to update, add value, or prepare to sell their home.

Twenty-one per cent of households intend to renovate this year because their dwelling needs repairs, while 19 per cent say that it needs maintenance.

Renovation intenders in Toronto plan to spend the most on renovations

When asked what the household expected to spend on their renovations, the average estimate across the five centres was $12,880. Households in Toronto expected to pay the most on average ($14,920), while households in Halifax expected to pay the least on average ($8,200).

Spending intentions on renovations were, on average, underestimated, in 2007 by $1,000. Households surveyed in 2007 expected to spend an average of $11,270, while in actuality spent an average of over $12,800 on renovations for 2007.

Toronto homeowners underestimated their renovations, on average, by over $4,000, while those in Vancouver were off by only $800.