By Chen Weihua (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-29 09:24

Shanghai continues to flex its muscles in regulating the property market - a hotspot for speculation and public grievances.

To ease the concerns over skyrocketing housing prices driven partly by limited land supply, a three-year plan announced recently by the city government vowed to put 1,000 hectares in the market in the next three years.

Less than two weeks ago, Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng introduced a number of policies aimed at easing the worries of local residents, including expanding the number of beneficiaries of the budget housing to 30,000 households within this year.

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This policy will be first implemented in the city center this year and then spread to suburban districts next year.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Housing Fund has also decided to raise the maximum lending from 300,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan starting September 1.

Just last week, some 10 local government departments including Shanghai Housing, Land and Resources Administration Bureau, Supervision Bureau, Taxation Bureau and Construction and Transportation Commission, jointly launched a year-long campaign to crack down on illegal activities in the property market.

The housing and land bureau has set up a monitoring center to track property development in 19 local districts.

Tomson Riviera, the most expensive apartment building in the city, is still being investigated by government departments.

Sources from the housing and land bureau said real estate developers found to have used apartments for speculative purposes could lose their licenses.

If they can't come up with good reasons, real estate developers who refuse to start sales right after completion of housing projects will also be penalized.

A hotline, 962121, has been set up to invite public to report any illegal practices in the property market.

Despite these measures, many analysts show little confidence in any possible cooling down of the city's property segment.

Some analysts predict that if the current rising trend continues, it will take only three years for the price of apartments within the city's Inner Ring Road to hit US$10,000 per square meter.