Housing policies still fall short of expectations
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Five months after the government went on the attack, its policies are still failing to address the ever-rising housing prices.
Transaction volumes have picked up in four of China's most important cities: Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
"The transaction volume is getting higher, but it is still low compared with previous years," Yang Hongxu, an analyst with the Shanghai-based E-house China Research Development Institute, told the Global Times Tuesday.
In Beijing, the average price for commercial housing was 21,000 yuan ($3,100) per square meter in August, up 10.6 percent month-on-month, a record high from April, according to figures provided by a realty transaction management website.
In Shanghai, the China Real Estate Information Corporation said the commercial residential transaction area was up by 61 percent month-on-month, and the average price hit 20,973 yuan ($3,088.35) per square meter after declining three months, up 5.8 percent month-on-month.
In Guangzhou, the transaction volume was up 60 percent compared with the previous month, the highest rate since the government released policies to control the market in April. The government raised down payments for second home purchases and loan interest rates, according to a report from Guangzhou Daily Tuesday.
Figures from the China Index Academy show that in Shenzhen the residential transaction area was up by 84 percent in August, and the price was up by 7 percent.
While all these numbers seem to paint a startling picture of ineffective policies, it is important to note that they are all month-on-month. Year-on-year figures have not been released, but analysts believe that prices will level off and are not expected to rise over the next two years.
"The housing market is not as crazy as it seems," said Huang Tao from Centaline Property Agency. "Price increases occurred mainly in the high-end market, while average housing was practically unchanged," Huang told the Guangzhou Daily.
While this is a good sign, more government intervention might be necessary.
"It is possible that the government will implement stricter tax and loan policies to restrain speculation," Yang from E-House said.
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