Affordable housing programs to cool down real estate
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"Only a dualistic structure that balances the development of both low-cost housing and commercial housing could ensure a stable and healthy market," said the report.
However, both policy makers and market observers have pointed out that the good intentions of the central government's regulations and construction plans could fade if local governments, which rely largely on land transfers for their revenues, fail to have them properly implemented.
Zhang also warned that local governments might not be as eager as the central administration about affordable housing projects.
"The central government is determined to speed up affordable housing construction, but it depends on local governments to carry out the plans," he said.
Local governments could be reluctant to implement them, as they are asked to both transfer the land at a low price and help finance these projects, which will definitely reduce their fiscal revenues, he explained.
Despite that the past year had seen "the most strict curbs on property market", land transactions had brought 2.7 trillion yuan in revenue to Chinese local governments last year, a 70.4 percent surge year on year.
In contrast, the Chinese central government provided 55.06 billion yuan to finance affordable housing construction in 2009, while local governments spent only 17.54 billion.
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