Prime

Cabinet keeps curbs on property market

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-28 08:06

BEIJING - In the latest story in the government real estate saga, the State Council has called for local governments to increase the supply of subsidized housing and curb speculation in the property market, according to the cabinet's website.

On Wednesday, China said it would continue efforts to put a damper on the red-hot market for the rest of the year, after the latest data showed property prices remaining buoyant.

It put the burden on local governments again, telling them to cool the real estate market and said China would put "firm curbs on rapid property price increases in some cities".

Official data showed property prices in major cities in September rising 0.5 percent from August, the first month-on-month increase since May.

The rise came in the face of a slew of tightening measures taken by Beijing since April to prevent an asset bubble. These included higher down-payments and mortgage rates.

The announcement summarized Beijing's economic goals for the rest of the year, as outlined at a meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao on Monday.

China "faces a very complex international environment and increasing external challenges, which makes macro-tuning more demanding," the government said.

Consumer prices have been climbing in recent months and rose at their fastest pace in nearly two years, in September, when they were up 3.6 percent from a year earlier.

In a surprise move last week, the People's Bank of China announced it would raise one-year lending and deposit rates for the first time since 2007 as it tries to curb soaring property prices and bank lending.

"There is still relatively strong momentum for domestic credit to keep expanding," Zhou Xiaochuan, the central bank governor, said on the bank's website on Thursday last week.

China Daily - AFP