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Property prices expected to begin a downward trend

By Hu Yang (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-03-23 17:39

The State Council has dispatched eight research teams to check the effects of the property tightening measures around the country, China Securities Journal said Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

In addition, a separate research mission has also been launched by the Ministry of Land and Resources to monitor the country's land use and prices. Industry insiders said the property prices will begin a downward trend within the coming months.

The move is aimed to re-stress the government's attitude on cooling down the property markets. The State Council will release the results of the investigations afterwards, according to the report.

Housing sales in first tier cities declined 64.6 percent month-on-month in February, while the dip for second tier cities is 18 percent, according to statistics from real estate adviser DTZ, Agents in Beijing told the newspaper that house price growth has been dampened to some extent but obvious decline have yet to be seen.

The National Development and Reform Commission issued a regulation Tuesday, asking developers to give clear price tags to every single apartment to be sold. The move should increase supply and stabilize market prices, chief analyst Zhang Yue with housing agency Homelink said, according to the report

Related readings:  Home prices in China continued to rise in Feb  Jan property prices rise in most cities

More over, some second and third tier cities, including Yinchuan, Taiyuan, Guiyang and Kunming, have already set targets for house price control, as central government ordered. First tier cities like Beijiang, Shanghai and Shenzhen, where housing prices have risen fastest, will also publish the targets within the month.

The tightening of the property market will continue this year, said Qing Hong, deputy director of the Policy Research Center of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. But analysts said that the property tax pilot may not be expanded within this year as the "turning point" of the house market is on the way.

Property prices in China are expected to begin a downward trend. The house price index, based on home prices in China's 70 major cities, will see a decline before May, estimated Yang Hongxu, a senior researcher at E-House China Research and Development Institute in Shanghai.