Registration covers more than housing

Concerns continue to simmer over the potential downsides China's immovable property registration system might have on property prices. How realistic are such worries?

Authorities have clearly stated that this system is meant to protect the rights of property owners, not influence pricing trends. In reality, the scope of this system stretches far beyond the commercial property market.

Despite popular perception, quite extensive registration data already exist concerning private homeownership. In actuality, the new rules are meant to address existing regulatory gaps by expanding immovable property registration to land, forests, grasslands and even bodies of water. Ownership rights over such assets have long gone unrecorded.

An interim immovable property registration system will be implemented starting in March. Property owners can choose whether they want to register or not. This means that official data will only include the assets of owners who come forward to be counted. Certainly, unrecorded properties will not enjoy the same protections as those which are registered. In other words, new registration rules are likely to have a limited impact on home prices.