The property price fever

Tightening measures to cool the sizzling real estate market are badly needed. Yet, to cure China's property price fever, Chinese policymakers need to come up with a more holistic therapy than the piecemeal approach they currently adopt.

In face of an 11.7-percent year-on-year rise of housing prices in 70 major cities last month, the biggest since July 2005, the central government decided on Thursday to raise downpayments and second-home loan rates.

By requiring certain homebuyers to pay more downpayments and higher loan rates, the latest move apparently underscored the central government's determination to prevent property bubbles.