Underhanded property sellers get fingers rapped

SHANGHAI - China's top economic planner told developers and real estate agents on Tuesday not to use underhanded means to sell property, as Beijing continues efforts to cool the country's real estate market.

Anyone trying to sell a property "must not use false or nonstandard price labels to mislead property buyers", the National Development and Reform Commission said in new rules that take effect on May 1.

The regulations are aimed at making prices more transparent to protect both property buyers and sellers, it said, as concerns grow throughout the country about an increasing lack of affordable housing.