China scales up regulation of real estate developers, agents

BEIJING - China's housing regulator urged efforts to crack down on malpractice by real estate agents and developers on Wednesday amid a fresh round of measures to cool the property market.

Local authorities were required to act strongly against monopolistic practices and market manipulation, creating misleading expectations through rumor mongering, and providing false certificates, according to a statement from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Regulators should also continue to look into down payment loans and other illegal housing financing tools, the statement said.

The ministry criticized 30 real estate agent offices and developers for flouting market rules.

It called for "high-pressure" measures against irregularities to promote stable and healthy development of the property market.

Major Chinese cities, including Beijing, are taking fresh measures including increased minimum deposits for second-time home buyers, adding to the slew of steps taken since October in dozens of cities to prevent home prices from rising out of control.

These restrictions followed two years of policy easing, starting with relaxed purchase restrictions in 2014 that were subsequently fueled by pro-growth policies, including interest rate cuts.