Results are beginning to be seen as a consequence of the central government's efforts to control the overheated real estate industry. Growth rates for property investment, new building areas, and redevelopment projects, have all dropped in the first five months of this year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, combined real estate investment amounted to more than 370 billion yuan (US$45 billion) from January to May. This was a rise of 32 percent from the same period in 2003, but the rate of growth fell 0.9 percent.

At the same time, a total area of about 65 million square meters was developed, with another 124 million square meters in reserve. That's up by about 20 percent and nearly 10 percent from last year respectively.

Complying with the central government's policy, some local governments have also issued supplementary regulations. These include bans of pre-completion properties and the contractual transfer of State-owned land to private developers in order to limit property speculation. But while the enthusiasm for real estate has started to dampen slightly, housing sales still continue to surge. More than 83 million square meters of commercial housing was sold in the first five months of this year, increasing of 31 percent from 2003.

(CCTV June 23, 2004)