China to act against home price violations

Prospective buyers attend a real estate trade fair in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, on Oct 3, 2016 [Photo/China Daily]

BEIJING - China's price watchdog and housing market regulator are set to begin a nationwide month-long inspection of the real estate sector to review the working practice of both developers and agents.

Home prices must be genuine and marked clearly in sales offices and all other charges must be not be concealed, according to a statement jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Tuesday.

Developers and agents must disclose the number of unsold houses within a set time, the statement said, stressing that any misdeeds will be dealt with accordingly.

The inspection starts Thursday.

This is the latest move by the central authorities to improve the real estate sector after irregularities were highlighted as the country struggles with an overheated property sector.

The housing market in major cities has shown signs of cooling as a spate of measures to contain prices were rolled out by the central government.