Local govts should cool housing market

THE CENTRAL BANK and the housing and land authorities recently convened a conference in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, on local governments' real estate policies. Only the officials from some key provincial-level regions were summoned to attend the meeting. Southern Metropolis Daily commented on Wednesday:

The conference conveyed the unmistakable message that the local governments should continue to strictly control house prices in big cities while preventing sharp falls, and ensure that low-income people have access to the government-subsidized houses, as well as taking steps to promote the healthy development of the real estate industry.

The meeting was timely, as the housing markets in some cities are continuing to heat up, an indicator of the people's expectation that housing prices will rise higher.