The Chinese Construction Minister Wang Guangtao said Friday China
is to clean up and regulate the current real estate market, in the
areas of housing development, sales, agent market and property
management.
In
a press conference held by the Information Office of the State
Council, Wang said seven state departments including the Ministry
of Construction will jointly eradicate the root in the housing and
real estate market of China.
Last week, the Ministry of Construction penalized four illegal
housing projects, giving a hint of what is to come in a nationwide
investigation of the housing market.
According to Wang, attention will be focused on conspicuous
problems in the housing and real estate sector, namely, illegal
housing developments, the lack of warranties and specifications
required by regulation, misleading advertisements, houses with
insufficient living space, the disorder of the real estate
agencies, unfair contracts and unregulated property management.
According to the China Consumers Association (CCA), the number of
cases of illegalities reported by Chinese house buyers in 2001 was
13.2 percent higher than that of the previous year.
There were 17,068 lawsuits in the housing sector in 2001, 35.7
percent more than 2000.
Wang said to rectify and regulate the housing and real estate
market is key to the sustained development of the national economy,
so with the consumers' interests and social stability.
The Chinese government has decided to establish an Internet system
by October to publicize the names of companies acting illegally in
the housing sector.
The government will also enforce the laws relating to the
management of the housing and real estate market, said Wang, adding
that all illegal operations will be penalized according to relevant
laws and regulations.
In
addition, the Ministry of Construction will improve laws and
regulations. A regulation dealing with property management is being
framed and will be completed this year, Wang said.
China's housing industry is now a major booster of the national
economy. Statistics show that in the first five months this year,
the investment in housing development grew 36.7 percent over the
same period in 2001.
Yang Jianlong, an expert with the Development Research Center of
the State Council, believes the growth rate in China's housing and
real estate industry in the future will be five percent higher than
national economic growth.
With increased income, Chinese people in both urban and rural areas
will spend more on improving their living conditions in coming
years. This will become a huge market for China's housing and real
estate industry, Yang said.
(Xinhua News
Agency July 6, 2002)