Shenzhen authorities said there would be no new measures to curb property speculation soon although the city government was determined to control property prices, Chinese-language media reported Thursday (Feb 24).
The city planning and land resources commission made the remarks Wednesday after a number of major cities recently rolled out detailed tightening measures, following the Central Government extending property curbs to prevent a housing bubble early this year.
Chinese-language newspapers reported that the commission was working on a draft on property price controls in the first quarter of this year, which will be submitted to the city government for approval before announced.
"The price controls will be decided on the economic growth of the city as well as the growth rate of the per capita disposable income," said an unidentified official with the commission, according to Southern Metropolis Daily.
The official said the city would continue the home purchase limit implemented last September. Under the limit, residents with Shenzhen hukou are allowed to buy no more than two homes, while those without Shenzhen hukou are limited to one home on the condition that they have paid taxes or social security insurance for at least one year in Shenzhen.
Industry analysts said it was not the right time for the city government to introduce further tightening measures because "the market is rather stagnating" since the beginning of this year, the Daily reported.
"Transaction volumes of new and pre-owned homes in the city are rather low," Wang Shijie, director of the marketing department of Cetaline Property, told the Daily. "The number of pre-owned homes sold in February fell by as much as 80 percent."
Beijing was the first city to introduce more rules to curb property speculation Feb. 16. It limits local residents from buying more than two homes while non-locals are allowed to buy only one home provided they have paid taxes in the city for five consecutive years.
Shanghai, Chongqing, Qingdao and a number of other cities also rolled out similar rules.
