This Day, That Year

Item from May 25, 1991, in China Daily: Property hunters look for homes at the 10th Housing Exchange Fair at the Working People's Cultural Palace in Beijing. Most were searching for homes closer to where they work.

Following the privatization of urban housing in the 1990s, realtors have played an important role in China's rapid economic growth.

Last year, the housing sector accounted for 6.5 percent of the country's GDP, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

Soaring demand makes owning a home in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai difficult for most people.

A series of measures, including purchase limits and tough mortgage rules, have helped cool the market.

Of the 70 cities tracked by the National Bureau of Statistics, 30 saw slower growth in new and pre-owned home prices last month.

In the past 12 months, about 50 cities have introduced tough new home-buying rules, a report from realtor Centaline Property said.

To further stabilize the market, Beijing has announced plans to increase land supply, which will be enough for an additional 1.5 million homes.