. Earth Science News .
POLITICAL ECONOMY
China orders honesty in property market

by Staff Writers
Shanghai (AFP) March 22, 2011
China's economic planner told developers and real estate agents Tuesday not to use underhanded means to sell property, as Beijing continues efforts to cool the country's real estate market.

Anyone trying to sell a property "must not use false or nonstandard price labels to mislead property buyers", the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in new rules that take effect on May 1.

The regulations are aimed at making prices more transparent to protect both consumers and property sellers, it said, as concerns grow throughout the country at an increasing lack of affordable housing.

China's property developers often lure buyers with tactics including touting only the lowest priced unit in residential projects.

Other typical practices include deliberately marking up prices and offering subsequent "discounts" to create the impression buyers are getting a good deal.

Some developers also hype up prices by withholding some units to create the impression that newly opened buildings are selling fast and should be snapped up quickly.

China has introduced a number of measures to cool the market since late 2009, including bans on second home buying in some cities and trial property taxes in Shanghai and the southwestern mega-city of Chongqing.

Premier Wen Jiabao told China's legislature earlier this month that the government would ramp up a campaign to build affordable housing amid growing public concern over rising prices.

"Morality should flow in the blood of property developers," Wen also told Chinese web users in an online media event ahead of the annual parliament session.

The NDRC's new rules state: "Price information in property sellers' advertisements must be real, accurate and elaborate." They also say that sellers must disclose information from parking spaces to interior decorations.

Official data suggests house prices softened in February, with eight of the 70 major cities tracked falling from the previous month. Only three cities had showed a monthly decline in January.

But housing costs still broadly remain high as prices in Beijing rose 0.4 percent in February from January, and Shanghai recorded a 0.9 percent increase for the second straight month.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
The Economy



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


POLITICAL ECONOMY
Tokyo stocks up 3.61% as BoJ pumps more cash in
Osaka (AFP) March 22, 2011
Tokyo stocks jumped 3.61 percent early Tuesday as traders returned from a public holiday and as the Bank of Japan renewed its emergency fund provision to soothe jittery markets. The key Nikkei index added 332.30 points to 9,539.05 in early trading. The broader Topix index was up 3.84 percent, or 31.85 points, at 862.24. Sentiment was boosted after the central bank on Tuesday injected two ... read more







POLITICAL ECONOMY
IAEA sees 'some positive developments' at Fukushima

Power line connected to stricken Japan reactor

Japan struggles to restore power to atom plant

Power line connected to stricken Japan reactor

POLITICAL ECONOMY
Facebook buys startup to link with more mobile phones

Contamination at Fukushima plant to last 'decades': experts

Radioactive substances in seawater near Japan plant

Tech-savvy Indians cry out for Apple's attention

POLITICAL ECONOMY
Pacific islands push US to improve fisheries deal

Green Sludge Can Protect Groundwater From Radioactive Contamination

Scotland plans largest tidal energy farm

'Open for business' Hawaii dismisses nuclear fears

POLITICAL ECONOMY
Wheels Up for Extensive Survey of Arctic Ice

Arctic-Wide Measurements Verify Rapid Ozone Depletion In Recent Days

Pace of polar ice melt 'accelerating rapidly': study

Soot Packs A Punch On Tibetan Plateau's Climate

POLITICAL ECONOMY
Optimizing Yield And Fruit Size Of Figs

Chemical-Free Pest Management Cuts Rice Waste

New Software Calculates Heating Costs In Greenhouse Operations

Plasticity Of Plants Helps Them Adapt To Climate Change

POLITICAL ECONOMY
Japan quake dead, missing top 20,000: police

Japan dead, missing nears 20,000: police

Quake, tsunami could cost Japan $235 billion: WBank

Trauma stalks children of Japan tsunami

POLITICAL ECONOMY
African Union demands 'immediate' halt to Libya attacks

Gbagbo camp recruits youth, thousands flee Abidjan violence

Unloved in the West, Kadhafi still has fans in Africa

UN says Abidjian attack may be crimes against humanity

POLITICAL ECONOMY
Study: More immigrant families are intact

Study: Neanderthals had control of fire

Age Affects All Primates

Brain Has 3 Layers Of Working Memory


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement