DRC, Liu Weimin

2017-5-31

On May 26, 2017 the government of Zhangjiakou, a prefectural city in Hebei Province, issued “Guidelines on the Provision of Affordable Houses to Promote the Stable and Sound Development of Housing Market”. The guidelines include 13 articles relating to increasing the supply of affordable houses (also known as government-subsidized houses), regulating the sales of commercial houses, strictly limiting the purchase and sales of regional commercial houses, improving the differentiated housing credit policies, adjusting housing provident fund policies and establishing supervision and service platforms. The introduction of the guidelines marks the implementation of the restriction policy on housing purchase, housing loans, housing fixed price and housing sales. Liu Weimin, a research fellow of DRC, expressed his views to a reporter from China Economic Times. He said that the purpose of implementing such a policy is to deter the hiking housing prices and moderate housing market trade volumes. More and more cities are implementing this policy to reign in the performance of real estate market, which has become a new feature of the regulation in urban housing market in China. According to Liu Weimin, limiting speculative property trade will increase the cost of housing owners and prevent quick flow of capital in housing market, thereby checking housing speculations and illicit cash-out to make the policy become truly implemented. The gradual implementation of various measures of the above-mentioned policy has forced some intermediary agencies to be closed. There are mainly two reasons for that. First, the restriction policy on housing purchase and housing loans will inevitably bring the housing prices and trade volume to become normal again. As housing trade volume declines, the number of intermediary agencies will be reduced. Second, regulation sectors are strictly supervising the real estate agencies on illegal businesses and the agents’ qualifications.