A ban on land allotment for building villas will be strictly
implemented, the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) announced
yesterday adding more muscle to recent government moves to cool
down the property market.
A statement by MLR Vice-Minister Wang Shiyuan urged governments
at various levels to "immediately" halt the approval of land supply
for villa construction; and make a structural adjustment of land
supply.
Although a ban on land approval for villas was imposed three
years ago, when Beijing moved to slow down the rise of some
macro-economic indices, nationwide implementation has been
inconsistent; and indifferent in some places.
According to Shu Kexin, vice-director of MLR's land use
department, many local governments have given the green light to
luxury-housing estates which did not use the word "villas."
"The country cannot afford construction of large villas to meet
the demand of a few high-end customers while sacrificing the
interests of the majority," Shu said.
Shu also pointed out that the rapid increase of housing prices
in many places was a result of a poor balance between supply and
demand, and not because of limited land supply.
There is a misconception that land makes up a big chunk of
property prices but, for instance, they account for only 6-8
percent of real-estate prices in Beijing, he said.
To cool down the overheated market, the central government on
Monday announced a package of policies, including raising mortgage
down payments from 20 to 30 percent on units larger than 90 square
meters; and requiring that 70 percent of all houses be smaller than
90 square meters.
Priority in land allocation will be given to projects building
mid- and low-price or small apartments.
At the same time, MLR officials said, information about land
supply and use will be made available to the public.
Vice-Minister Wang pledged that land authorities would work
together with the Ministry of Supervision to investigate
irregularities in housing-related cases.
Meanwhile, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)
yesterday did not, as widely speculated, announce any restriction
on foreigners purchasing property which has been a rising trend in
recent years.
Financial experts have been calling for curbs because of
significant amount of foreign money entering the property
market.
According to a SAFE report, FDI inflows last year were US$79.1
billion, showing a year-on-year increase of 44 per cent. Of this,
US$3.4 billion was spent on houses by institutional buyers.
(China Daily June 1, 2006)
?