(ECNS) -- China may roll out more measures to address a sizzling property market that could potentially undermine the economy, according to a report by Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics and Shanghai University show that housing prices continued to rise in some cities in the first quarter of 2017, despite many cities implementing stricter control measures.
In the first three months, only 13 cities saw new housing prices on par with or lower than those seen at the end of 2016. In the second-hand market, just nine cities saw roughly the same or lower prices compared to the end of last year.
Housing investment continued a strong growth despite property sales experiencing an obvious drop. Property developers invested approximately 1.9 trillion yuan ($280 billion) in the first quarter, up 9.1 percent year-on-year, setting a new high in nearly two years.
"The housing market saw a rise in both sales and prices in 2016, which stimulated developers' willingness to invest," said Yang Yibo, a researcher at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. He added that the investment spree indicated developer confidence in a growing market.
However, Chinese residents' mid- and long-term loans accounted for 44.1 percent of new lending in March, indicating a leverage-level high enough to cause worry, Yang said.
Data show that the housing-loan-to-income ratio was 56.4 percent in 2016, a fast increase from 35.9 percent in 2012. In 2015-2016 alone, the ratio saw an increase of 11 percentage points. As the ratio only took commercial loans into account and excluded housing provident fund loans, that level was quite alarming, said Yang.
He predicted that more control measures would come in the future.
