China strengthens land supervision

The Ministry of Land and Resources says more measures are due to strengthen supervision of the sale of land in order to put a curb on speculation and stabilize prices in real estate. Local governments will be required to upgrade benchmark quotations for each plot of land and make these known to the public in good time.

Transaction costs for transfer of land should be at least 70 percent of this benchmark price, while the immediate deposit should be at least 20 percent of the lowest bid. Developers must also sign the contract for transfer within 10 days of acquiring land.

And once the contract is signed, they have a month to pay off the down payment, which is set at no less than 50 percent of the overall price. 70 percent of the supply of land must be set aside for welfare housing and small commercial properties.