Haikou: Purchase controls up to developers

Several housing projects in Haikou, South China's Hainan province, are not applying purchase control policies, reported the China Securities Journal.

One project has even posted a sign saying "No purchase limit" at its sales office in the west end of Haikou.

Purchase control policies went into effect in many cities around China, including Haikou, in 2011 as one of the measures to curb surging housing prices.

Under the policies, residents with household registrations are not allowed to buy more than two homes, while residents without household registrations and without proof of local social security or tax payments are not allowed to buy homes in Haikou.

The application or not of the purchase control policies are up to the developers, and buyers can purchase the homes as along as developers agree, according to housing authorities in Haikou. However, the purchase control policies have not been revoked since they were introduced in Feb 2011, the China Securities Journal said.

Homes totaling 8.95 million square meters were sold in the first half of 2012, according to data by the China Index Academy, a real estate information services provider.