New property registration regulation takes effect

Essential step for the launch of tax: experts

A provisional regulation on property registration, which stipulates a unified registration system nationwide, officially took effect on Sunday, but experts noted that the unified system is expected to have little impact on housing prices in the short term.

Under the new regulation, property information registered with governments at all levels will be available on a unified system and will be shared among different government departments, according to the regulation, which was announced on December 22.

"It will be easier for the government to get hold of real information in the sector, which will make the policymaking more targeted," Dong Liming, a professor at the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences at Peking University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Hui Jianqiang, an expert with industry information provider Beijing Zhongfangyanxie Technology Service, noted that the unified registration system will not lead to any major drop in housing prices in the short term, as the regulation was announced in the past several months and the market has already absorbed the impact.

A realtor surnamed Wang at Homelink Real Estate Agency in Beijing told the Global Times on Sunday that so far there are still no major changes in housing prices but he noted that many potential homebuyers are holding a wait-and-see attitude because of the new regulation.

Experts noted that the unified property registration system will be an essential step for the launch of the property tax, which may cause an increase in the housing supply amid the cooling market.

Some property owners with multiple houses have been rushing to sell their houses during the past few months mainly due to the prospect that the property tax may be around the corner after the unified system took effect, China Youth Daily reported on Sunday.

The legislation of the property tax has been a priority for the Ministry of Finance this year, and a draft regulation on the property tax is expected to be completed within this year, media reports said in January.[Special coverage]

China's housing market is still cooling, with the average home price of the 100 monitored cities easing to 10,539 yuan ($1,714) per square meter in February, down 0.24 percent month-on-month and 3.84 percent year-on-year, according to a report from the China Index Academy on Saturday.

Housing prices will still see downward pressure due to high inventories, said the report.

But given that many local governments have loosened the housing purchase restrictions and the monetary policy is also loosening, Hui believed that China's housing market in 2015 will be stable.

"At least it will not be worse than 2014," he said.