National real estate registration database will aid housing policies

The real estate registration information management platforms operated by local governments have recently been merged into a unified national database, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources. Guangming Daily comments:

The unified national real estate registration information management platform should primarily be regarded as a guarantee for real estate transactions, and as means to enhance the efficiency of real estate transactions and protect the legal rights and interests of property owners.

The national property database can also promote real-time information sharing among different government departments in housing, construction, agriculture, forestry and ocean affairs, and so better coordinate their work.

The move also paves the way for the collection of a property tax. But collecting a property tax, which is still being discussed, is by no means the main reason for consolidating local real estate registration information into a national database. Nor will the move bring down housing prices as many seem to expect, as supply-demand relations are the decisive factor influencing housing prices.

The establishing of a unified database on real estate registration information can help the central government know about the situation of the real estate market more accurately, providing it with real-time information for the drawing up of policies, especially the construction of government subsidized housing.

The speculators who have a large number of houses in different parts of the country under their names will also be exposed by the system. And the authorities will be better able to apply policies to curb property speculation without hurting first-time homebuyers.

The nationwide real estate registration database will also help in the anti-corruption campaign, although this is merely a collateral effect of the move, and it should not be exaggerated as being the main reason for the move, which will help promote good governance.