A growing number of apartments that are sold while vacant are likely to become a potential threat to local real estate market, said Pang Yuan, vice director of the Shanghai Housing and Land Resources Administrative Bureau.

"We will not only pay attention to new vacant properties, but also focus on sold while unoccupied ones," Pang said. These buildings can be considered prospective housing supplies, and if they hit the market together, it will cause large impact, Pang pointed out.

The Shanghai Housing and Land Resources Administrative Bureau will collect detailed market information to get an overall understanding of market changes, he said, adding that they will try to guide real estate investments in a rational way.

(eastday.com June 23, 2004)