Target housing bubbles

China's red-hot property market is show- ing signs of cooling as the volume in property trading in cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Guangzhou plunged after the government introduced new regulations early this month. But don't get comfortable yet: The new policies are just the beginning to restrain the housing bubbles that are emerging in many cities.

If the latest campaign to cool the property market succeeds, policymakers must come up with more targeted measures to effectively curb property speculation. Without them, the country may risk another disastrous surge in property prices.

Since the central government has made it clear that it will apply the most Draconian measures to cool the property market, local governments and authorities should do their best to help alleviate the property bubbles.