A senior government official has warned defiant local governments that they must initiate property market controls set out by the central government.

 

"Local governments should not defy orders given by the central government which aim to stabilize housing prices, adjust investment and supply and demand structures of the real estate market", said Yun Xiaosu, vice minister of Land and Resources.

 

Yun traveled to Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu, where he consulted with developers, real estate agencies and consumers to learn their views and suggestions on how to enforce the central government's macro control policies aimed at cooling the property market.

 

Yun said large residential units of more than 90 square meters should not exceed 70 percent of the total number of apartments of new developments.

 

"Large homes cannot dominate a housing project", He said.

 

China's central government has tightened controls over defiant local authorities ignoring the macro control policies.

 

Teams of officials from the ministries of Construction, Land and Resources, the National Development and Reform Commission and other central authorities have been sent to Beijing, Tianjin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong, Hubei, Guangdong, Sichuan and Shaanxi.

 

Yun also noted that the real estate industry should mainly be regulated by market forces, but some circumstances require new measures to avoid the irrational development of the market.

 

He stressed local governments should keep a close watch on the property market to avoid extreme price fluctuations.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 30, 2006)