Analysts: property market may stable

Let's get some background to one topic that's topping agendas at both plenary sessions this year. And that is the runaway real estate sector. Some analysts say they expect policies that are launched as a result of ongoing discussions to put a brake on rising prices. But, in fact, tighter controls launched late last year are already having an effect.

February saw big tumbles in real estate sales in major cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Only about 4 thousand units were sold in Beijing, down 40 percent from January. While in Guangzhou, declines were sharper, down by half to around 3,500 units. Meanwhile, Shanghai sold 320 thousand square meters in February, down 55 percent from the previous month. Analysts say tighter policies are the main reason for these falls.

A property analyst said, "Consumers are choosing to wait and see after the release of policies to cut back on land-hoarding."

And it's not just sales volumes that are dropping. Even house prices have started to fall. Data shows average prices in Beijing hitting about 19 thousand yuan per square meters in February, down 6 percent from January. Some developers have even begun to slash prices to boost sales.

The property analyst said, "The developers are not confident about the market and they're trying to work out buyer sentiment by offering price cuts."

But with deputies and members at both the NPC and CPPCC sessions actively trying to tackle the problem of an overheated real estate sector, many analysts expect something to come out of their suggestions. They think prices could in fact fall as a result of new policies.