China's property market will see smaller price gains ahead, major developer says
- Property price gains in China are likely to slow due to official efforts to rein in the market, said SOHO China CEO Zhang Xin
Property price gains in China are likely to slow due to official efforts to rein in the market, a top real estate executive said Thursday.
"For years, the Chinese government has had the effort to control the speed of the fast-rising property price, so there's always been policies coming out to control the market, but now this becomes a real nation-wide effort," said SOHO China CEO Zhang Xin.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Fortune Global Forum in Guangzhou, China, Zhang said she expects smaller annual price increases in key cities going forward.
Runaway property prices have fueled concerns about the risk of a bubble in the world's second-largest economy for years and present a real level of social risk for the government.
The Chinese government last month indicated that it could implement a property tax in the near future to help curb speculation.
Even so, authorities in Beijing have indicated that they will release land supply for rental and for lower income citizens that will add "a lot more supply" to the market, SOHO's Zhang noted.
China's largest prime office developer, SOHO is focused on commercial real estate and has ventured into co-working spaces.