2010-04-21 08:56

On March 11, the Ministry of Land and Resources issued a directive, saying that developers must take a 50-percent downpayment on all land put up for auction within one month after signing a contract, or they will lose the land along with their deposit.

On March 18, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council ordered 78 central State-owned enterprises to quit the housing market.

On March 23, the Ministry of Land and Resources suspended transactions of land for residential use until a nationwide land-use plan was crafted on April 15.

On April 14, the central government raised the required downpayment for a family purchasing a second house from the 40 percent to 50 percent.

On April 17, the State Council asked related departments and local governments to take strict measures to curb speculative property purchases and to increase residential housing supplies. It also said banks can refuse loans to people buying their third houses in areas suffering from soaring property prices.