New-home buyers usually find the edge honed off their enthusiasm by the sound of power saws tearing through wood and tile as soon as they move into their new abode.

The continuous pounding that goes on 12 hours a day and the constant whine of drills may keep their teeth on edge for months, as finishing work goes on in other apartments in the building complex.

The noise inflicted on them while other people's new homes are being completed now becomes a part of their daily lives, along with the dust and fumes.

This scenario is one with which most people in Shanghai are familiar, but perhaps not much longer.

The municipal residential administration of Shanghai has decided to call on property developers to place finished units on the market instead of the basic shell they now sell.

Fifteen residential complexes with 3,000 flats have been selected as the vanguard of a plan to allow home buyers to choose the materials and the design for the finishing work.

Sources from the Ministry of Construction said building finished apartments is a growing trend throughout the country, although there has been no red letter from the government urging the developers to do so.

"It is a natural development of the market," said Lu Keng, chairman of a Shenyang-based group, the co-developer of the Olympics Garden in Songjiang District.

The property, with a total of 1,300 flats, has been included in this initiative programme which is bound to become popular, according to Lin Xiancheng, spokeswoman of the residential administration.

In the past, Lu said, apartments were provided by the government, which left the ones meant for locals unfinished as a means of reducing costs.

Foreign-sale apartments were finished and commanded much higher rents.

Since 1997, the country has been encouraging people to buy homes, but few could afford the finished apartment.

Now, individual buyers in Shanghai account for over 95 per cent of the buyers. Many of them have limited funds but plenty of time to furnish the house little by little.

"It offers an outlet for corruption," said Stanley K. K. Chan, deputy managing director of Hong Kong Registered City Integrated Residential Services.

People in some positions will have their apartments furnished with materials such as floor tiles and sliding doors given as secret gifts by others. Having the developer finish off all the apartment uniformly is a way to cut down on these unjust favours, Chan said.

But the most important reason to advocate the finished apartment is to keep the complex quiet, clean and healthy.

You will surely live on a veritable construction site even several months after you move into a new apartment while the neighbours knock down their walls from morning till night.

It is common for residents to face debris-blocked corridors, and elevators packed with construction materials that will be installed with unavoidable noise.

"We prefer the furnished flat," said Kate Dong, a newly married office worker.

Her husband, who works for a well-known joint venture, agreed enthusiastically.

"We have no time or energy to spend on house finishing," he said. "It is unpleasant to think of being bound by the same trivia our parents faced."

Stephen Lou, CEO of a property consultants company, said furnished housing is expected to gain more popularity for several reasons.

First, since time is money for most potential home-buyers, young people do not want to waste at least two months buying construction materials or supervising unreliable workmen.

"They prefer to drink coffee in the bar or sweat in the gym," Lou said.

The second is the danger that owners will change the structural integrity of the building.

"The buyers often destroy the bath or kitchen equipment, even the walls," he said.

One big advantage to buying a finished apartment is found in the fact that banks will extend loans to cover the expense.

The price of a furnished flat is around 1,000 yuan (US$120) per square metre higher than an unfurnished one.

The total price, however, may be less than a do-it-yourselfer, because the developer purchases finishing materials in large quantities.

Whatever the advantages of the finished apartment, there are still people who prefer to have the work done themselves.

Henry Shen, a young man working in a joint venture who has bought a two-bedroom apartment in Jinqiao, Pudong, is one.

He hired a team made up of migrant farmers and bought the materials himself before supervising the team to place them.

Although it is a headache for him that will last at least two months, he said it saves money.

Experts say that is why the concept of finished housing will take some time to catch on.

Meanwhile, if the city has its way, developers will show new buyers just how much easier it is to opt for a ready-to-occupy home.

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