Even the State Council put in place last week aggressive policies aiming to prevent property prices from surging irrationally, 80 percent of respondents of a study still said Beijing property prices would continue rising.

 

The study was conducted by Soufun.com, a real estate website based in Beijing, and the Beijing Real Estate Agency, available on Monday. 

 

Starting on June 1, owners who resell their property which was purchased less than five years ago have to pay a transaction tax of 5.5 percent of the sales value.

 

This is written in one of the policies to hold down the prices, which have become a public concern in China because of their unrestrained hikes, especially in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

 

But, some respondents voiced their concerns that the policies could lead to further price hikes on the second-hand property market in Beijing.

 

The study showed that 82.8 percent of would-be sellers and 84.8 would-be buyers held "the real estate prices are going to soar in Beijing," while 70 percent of would-be buyers "don't want to purchase so far."

 

Jin Yusong, manager of the real estate agency Homelink in Beijing, thought "the policies could be a double-edged sword."

 

"The purpose of the new policies was to prevent speculators from entering the property market. But at the same time, they could also strike the second-hand market as they may lead to a slide in property supply," he explained.

 

Agreeing with his colleague, Jing Yusong, Beijing Real Estate Agency market director, said, "The seller will definitely shift the tax he has to pay over to the buyer. That means a possible price increase on the second-hand market here." 

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2006)