China adds national pledge to curb housing prices in government work report

The Chinese central government has added a new line in the final version of its annual work report, pledging to curb surging property prices in big cities, as home prices in central Beijing rise to levels on par with Hong Kong.

A day after the revised government work report was published, the Beijing municipal government announced new measures to discourage home buying, including raising down payments for most property deals for second home purchases to an unprecedented 80 per cent.

The added pledge to curb housing prices was one of 78 revisions to the final version of the government work report since Chinese Premier Li Keqiang read the initial version to the National People’s Congress two weeks ago.

“Containing excessive home price rises in hot ­cities” is listed as one of the key tasks this year, according to the finalised document released by Xinhua on Thursday. The document will serve as a guideline for the central government this year.

Housing prices in big mainland cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have become increasingly unaffordable for ordinary people despite the government’s repeated efforts to contain prices. In Dongcheng and Xicheng districts in Beijing, the average asking price for flats has reached about 120,000 yuan (HK$135,000) per square metre, according to Homelink, a real estate services company.