(ECNS) - Authorities in Chongqing have vowed to crack down on property irregularities, China Business Journal reported.
Chongqing’s Municipal Bureau of Land and House Administration has joined with the Municipal Bureau of Public Security to release a directive on combating crimes in the real estate sector.
From July to December, efforts will be made to target irregularities by developers and agencies such as speculation, illegal fundraising, fake advertising, spreading rumors and fraudulent loans.
Insiders said the new policy represents a stronger move to rein in rising prices. In the past authorities relied on administrative measures such as economic penalties, summoned meetings, circulating a notice of criticism and stopping deals.
A suspect is now under police investigation after he was found posing as a staff member of a developer on July 20, when he took 60,000 yuan from 15 house purchasers, claiming he could help cut a deal on their preferred homes.
Yan Yuejin, an analyst with Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute, said Chongqing is taking the national lead in issuing stringent policies in housing control, an improvement from supervising transactions to explicitly mentioning the crackdown on illegal and criminal acts.
September and October are key months for real estate developers to boost sales growth. But many Chinese cities have introduced tight controls over the housing market this year.
In a meeting on Aug. 7, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development required more robust efforts in real estate market regulation to resolutely curb speculative deals.
Data from Centaline Property Research Center showed regulation of the property market set a new record in July, with more than 60 cities rolling out over 70 control measures.
