China on Monday unveiled new rules to curb land hoarding by developers, its latest efforts to pop a feared speculative bubble in the nation's soaring real estate sector.
Developers will be banned from bidding for more properties if they have lands idle for more than a year, illegally transferred lands, or developed land in breach of agreements, two Chinese ministries said.
Local governments must give priority to land development projects centred on the building of affordable homes, the Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said in a joint statement.
They reiterated that at least 70 per cent of land supplies should be set aside for public housing or smaller apartments.
Local authorities that fail to meet the target will be barred from offering land for luxury housing, the statement said.
Beijing has imposed a range of measures since April, including higher down-payment requirements and mortgage rates, to prevent the real-estate sector from overheating and causing a bubble analysts say could derail the economy.
Transactions were relatively muted due to these measures until mid-August, but analysts have warned the surge in transaction volumes in recent weeks suggests there may have been a renewed increase in speculation.
China Vanke, the nation's largest property developer by market value, fell 3.80 pe rcent on the news in early trade Monday before rebounding 0.6 per cent into positive territory in the afternoon, sitting at 8.20 yuan ($A1.27).
Link here:
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking- ... 20100927-15tvv.html

If the Government can actually enact this 1 year rule then that would bar any new developers from entering the field. It depends on when they actually enforce this law and there could be some heated buying in the short term before this becomes effective. For China Vanke and other developers like Agile, they have such a large land bank it would not really matter. Assume properties purchased a while ago will not be subjected to this one year rule.

As I have said in another thread, there is no bubble yet, contrary to popular belief. It would be another 5 years before things look dicey even if speculators were to continue on their buying spree but the Central Government would have many anti-speculative laws in place well before then.

[ Last edited by  geoduck at 27-9-2010 17:37 ]

Hi geoduck,

Home prices in HK have surged about 47 percent since the start of 2009, and the HK government is worried about a property bubble. How can you be so sure that there is no bubble yet? Would you be prepared to invest in the property market now? Maybe you know something the HK government doesn't know, or maybe you are a friend of a HK property tycoon like Mr Li K-S?

i hope the HK government will announce some policies to curb down the property prices in the coming government policy speech. the gov should do something like what china and singapore governments have done.

Human nature being what it is we'll always find ways around government regulation and policy. All government attempts to make housing more affordable here, have only exacerbated the situation. The people who benefit the most from property bubbles are invariably the people who decide public policy, wether in elected positions or behind the scenes.

The best any government can really do is try and keep the property bubbles that will inevitably arise from bursting too loudly and doing too much damage.

If you look closely at all my posts, I have said over and over again in other threads that Hong Kong is a bubble but we're talking about China here and that's a whole different place. Have you heard of the one country two systems? They are not the same and atomic posted this in reference to a new China legislation which will not concern HK at all.  This thread started with the China market and not HK unless you assume that they are the same market with the same laws.

[ Last edited by  geoduck at 28-9-2010 00:09 ]

China checks banks' compliance with property curbs
September 28, 2010 - 12:55PM
               
Chinese regulators are making spot checks on whether banks are strictly complying with government curbs on mortgages for non-owner-occupied homes, state media reported on Tuesday.
The inspections, by the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the housing ministry, are being conducted in big cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the Financial News reported, citing local banking regulators.
Regulators will also check that banks are complying with tougher rules on lending to property developers, the report said.

Beijing has rolled out a slew of measures since April to tame property inflation, including higher down payments and mortgage rates for second homes.
The results of the examinations will help determine the next stage of the government's policies, the paper said.
With property transactions and prices showing signs of a rebound in recent weeks, some industry experts expect Beijing to tighten further.
As part of its efforts to curb speculation, China may soon launch a long-awaited property tax, the Shanghai Securities News said on Tuesday. It did not give a firm timetable.
Speculation of such a tax has swirled for years, and a rash of reports suggesting the authorities are close to proceeding has weighed on the domestic stock market in recent months.
However, a number of analysts believe the authorities need more time to make technical preparations.
China's land ministry and housing ministry said in a joint circular over the weekend that they would ban developers from buying land if they were found to have hoarded land for more than a year or to have illegally transferred land.
Link here:
http://www.smh.com.au/business/w ... 20100928-15v29.html

wow the measures they are taking are pretty aggressive and unlike what the western world would do to temper any bubble of any kind.

i guess only a country like China can enact these rules almost overnight to stifle any concerns that it may have on its economy