A senior official from China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) has reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to keeping a tight lid on speculative investment on the property market.
During a recent inspection tour of the Jiangsu province city of Wuxi, MOHURD deputy-minister Ni Hong (倪虹) said that municipal governments in China must be “fully aware of the importance of stable and healthy development of the real estate market.”
“[They] must unwaveringly uphold the position that houses are for occupation and not speculation, and must not look to real estate as a means of short-term economic stimulus.”
Ni pointed to the need “to effectively guide expectations and firmly curb speculative investment in housing,” via “strengthened analysis and monitoring of the market, the prompt uncovering of problems, and the prompt adoption of targeted measures.
Since the start of 2021 various local authorities around China have introduced a total of 70 property control measures according to figures from the Centaline Property Research Centre, including 42 in January and 28 in February.
Local government curbs on property speculation first became an especial focus of attention in China in 2017, after Beijing called for regional authorities to clamp down on incipient housing market bubbles.
This focus has continued, with MOHURD stating at the start of the year that it would uphold its stance that “houses are for occupation, not speculation” as a key plank of policy in 2021, and the Beijing municipal government flagging a crackdown in speculation in the property sector in February.
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