China's Legions of 'Housing Slaves'

Sherry Sheng permitted herself one final splurge before joining China's swelling ranks of homeowners: a 4,000 yuan ($642) black fur jacket. Servicing the two mortgages on the 1.1 million yuan one-bedroom Sheng bought on the city's western outskirts will eat up about 70% of her salary as a policewoman. Sheng is a fang nu, or housing slave, the popular name for a generation of middle-class Chinese who will need to work a lifetime to pay off their debts. A 1,076-square-foot apartment in one of China's most affluent cities today costs about 40 years' annual income, according to data supplied by the government and SouFun Holdings, a company that operates a popular real estate Web site.