Shanghai vows to enforce housing curbs

Shanghai announced in a document on Friday that it will increase its enforcement of policies aimed at tightening the property sector, two days after the State Council dispatched teams to 16 municipalities and provinces, including Shanghai, to inspect the implementation of housing policies.

The document pledged to strictly implement policies on home purchase limits, differential credit and property sales and taxes. It added that the city will increase the supply of land for affordable housing and commercial and residential property.

Shanghai will begin the campaign to uncover policy violations in the second half of the year.

According to the document, the inspection will focus on fraudulent home purchase qualifications, tax collection and loans that violate policy.

The move comes at a crucial time when housing prices are expected to increase, raising concerns that the curbs have failed to lower property prices.

In June, residential property sales in Shanghai grew substantially, leading to an increase in the average home price for the first time in eight months, according to Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute.