CHINA said yesterday that it will improve tightening measures in the property market to fend off a speculative bubble and help home prices return to reasonable levels.
Premier Wen Jiabao said effective measures will also be implemented to increase the supply of ordinary houses while the construction and management of government-funded affordable homes should be well ensured.
Wen made the comments while chairing a State Council meeting to discuss its work report to be presented to the Chinese legislature's annual session early next month.
China has been reiterating over the past few months that it will remain unwavering in its fight against soaring home prices. About a year ago when earlier attempts to bring down prices had failed to have the desired effect, the government took a series of steps, including raising down payments and mortgage rates for second homes as well as limiting the number of homes that people can own, to put curbs on the property market.
The austerity measures, widely regarded by industry analysts as the toughest so far, have been taking effect gradually, curbing speculative investment as well as taming housing prices.
The growth in property loans in China slowed in 2011, the People's Bank of China said on Monday, the latest proof that demand had been effectively curbed. Banks in China extended 1.26 trillion yuan (US$200 billion) of new property loans last year, down 770.4 billion yuan from 2010, the central bank said.
The prices of new homes, excluding government-funded affordable housing, retreated month on month in 52 of 70 cities tracked by the National Bureau of Statistics in December, compared to 49 in November, 34 in October and 17 in September.
A separate report released by the China Index Academy, which tracks 100 major cities across the country, said home prices fell in December for the fourth straight month, with those in the 10 biggest cities further extending losses.
Wen also said during yesterday's meeting that the country will proceed with its macro-control policies and fine-tune them at appropriate times.
Funding for key projects under construction should be ensured and steady growth in investment should be maintained, he said.
Wen also pledged that government will work to solve prominent problems which were affecting people's well-being and make sure that welfare payments such as the minimum living guarantee and unemployment insurance were linked to inflation.