Sampling
The samples were from Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chongqing. In four randomly
selected estates in each city, questionnaires (Chinese version) were sent out (50 per estate)
and collected through property management companies. The respondents were restricted
to home buyers who had bought their houses within two years.
A total of 437 valid respondents took part in the survey (samples of each city ranged
from 92 to 136), with 217 males and 220 females. A total of 36.6 per cent of were under
30 years old, and 50.0 per cent were aged from 31 to 40; 57.4 per cent were first-time
buyers; 30.4 per cent had purchased property twice; 74.8 per cent had a monthly family
income of more than RMB5000; 44.6 per cent bought the pre-sale house; 24.3 per cent
bought their houses mainly for investment.