China likely to relax property policies in 2012
November 20th, 2011 - 2:38 pm ICT by IANSBeijing, Nov 20 (IANS) China is likely to loosen its restrictions on the country’s property market in the third quarter of next year, as plummeting prices could slow the growth of the economy, said a university report.
Property prices, sales and investment will fall in the first quarter of next year because of the government’s tightening measures, according to the report released by the Beijing-based Renmin University of China Saturday. It added that the possibility of a market collapse is slim.
A 20-percent fall in housing prices will force the government to adjust its policies, as a steeper decline will bring economic growth below 9 percent next year, Xinhua cited the report as saying.
The report predicted that the policy shift will probably take place in the third quarter of 2012. The central government will relax credit for the property market and loosen limits on home purchases.
The price correction will not trigger systematic risks, a massive sellout or an economic “hard landing” in China, the report said.
Since April 2010, China has imposed a raft of measures aiming to cool down property prices. The measures include higher down payments, limits on the number of houses that people can own, the introduction of a property tax in some cities and the construction of low-income housing.
Government data showed Friday that 34 cities in a statistical pool of 70 major cities saw declines in new home prices in October, compared with 17 in September.
Prices of new homes in four major cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen) saw month-on-month price drop in October after staying unchanged for three months.
The report said local governments might start to reverse the curbs in the second quarter of next year due to their heavy reliance on land sales for fiscal revenue.
During a visit to Russia earlier this month, Premier Wen Jiabao reiterated that the government will not waiver on its tightening measures and pledged to bring prices down to a reasonable level.
The report also forecast that economic growth will slow to 9.2 percent in 2012, a slight drop from the 9.4-percent growth posted this year.
- China's economy expected to pick up - Jul 26, 2012
- China's GDP growth to slow to 9.2 percent - Nov 20, 2011
- Chinese cities see property prices fall - Jul 18, 2011
- China's GDP will fall to 9.8 percent in 2011: Think tank - Jan 24, 2011
- China's Purchasing Managers Index rises in January (Lead) - Feb 01, 2012
- Property prices to drop 20 percent in China - Nov 21, 2010
- China's home prices rebound (Lead) - Jul 18, 2012
- China's quarterly GDP growth expected to drop below 9 percent - Jan 16, 2012
- China's GDP growth slows to 8.1 percent (Lead) - Apr 13, 2012
- China's quarterly GDP growth to drop below 9 percent - Jan 16, 2012
- China's GDP to grow by 8.8 percent in 2012 - Jan 03, 2012
- China cuts fuel prices - Jun 09, 2012
- China's economy to grow 8.2 percent in 2012: WB (Lead) - Apr 12, 2012
- Property prices fall in Chinese cities in July - Aug 18, 2011
- ADB cuts growth projection of developing Asia - Sep 14, 2011
Tags: central government, cities beijing, curbs, government data, guangzhou, home purchases, local governments, low income housing, major cities, market collapse, policy shift, premier wen jiabao, property policies, property tax, raft, renmin university of china, sellout, shenzhen, university of china, xinhua