金融英语阅读;Housing prices expected to continue falling

会计考友

　　Following China's efforts to control home prices, properties in some districts of Beijing have been sold at relatively low prices recently, and the prices will continue to fall, People's Daily reported Tuesday.
　　This is proof that the government's measures to control housing prices for more than half a year have been successful.
　　The authorities recently announced that they would continue their efforts to control the prices, and have implemented a series of new policies. The measures launched in April have succeeded in curbing the speculative demand for homes.
　　Some new properties in Beijing's Tongzhou District have been sold at relatively low prices, among which several were expected to be sold for 25,000 yuan ($3,500) per square meter but eventually went for 16,000 yuan ($2,200) per square meter.
5 u) R% u  V! S6 ^) B/ C* E　　However, many people are still unable to afford even the relatively low housing prices. According to People's Daily, the trading volume for new apartments in the capital decreased by two thirds this July compared with the same period last year, as many prospective home buyers have been waiting to see if prices would fall.
) X7 D: p0 _6 o　　The prices are indeed expected to fall due to a combination of factors such as the government's control measures, the availability of new properties on the market and the commitment of real estate developers to sell more properties. The cost of second-hand homes is also expected to fall, People's Daily reported.
1 _- |# b1 J- w9 q( z% O　　A financial analyst with CITIC Securities, Wang Deyong, told the Global Times, “The government's goal for reasonable housing prices has still not been reached, which means that the government is keen to intensify its control efforts. Also, the real estate developers have been short of funds as they saw a decline in the sales of homes, and this forced them to lower the housing prices.”
　　Wang predicted that the government would take measures to control housing prices, such as making use of idle land, collecting taxes for real estate and helping residents to find more affordable homes. He also said that most people who plan to buy homes are still waiting until the prices fall further, and speculative demand for homes would fall sharply.
　　People's Daily said there are still complex issues for the government to resolve in this matter, such as some local governments' contradictory polices, and advised the authorities to supervise the controls of home prices in all regions around the country, and to expose the cities with high housing prices that are a result of local governments' ineffective regulation