金融英语阅读：Lower prices on the horizon

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　　Housing prices could fall up to 10 percent from current levels in major cities over the next 12 months, according to a report from a credit-rating agency released Monday.
. F$ x0 I: P4 x7 f6 ~9 t# y　　Government measures adopted to cool the market and the abundance of new properties for sale could lead to a decline of as much as 10 percent in real estate prices in the coming year, said the Standard & Poor's Ratings Services report.
　　If the economy slows down significantly and interest rates rise sharply, home prices may even tumble 20 percent, the report said.
; L% u: }; J8 J1 X, u, l4 F3 t3 j　　"Some developers may face capital shortages in the fourth quarter, but they still could handle it if they cut prices," Li Guoyi, analyst with Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, told the Global Times Monday.
& o* E9 i$ Q9 B/ q- L$ x0 x　　Developers are currently in a better position than they were in 2008, when prices dropped dramatically and capital dried up, according to the agency.
4 X# ~: b) N7 f  X% N　　Many real-estate firms have adequate liquidity and have already locked in most of their revenue for 2010, reducing some of the financing pressure, the agency said.
5 G8 C$ B0 N  B2 C3 ]0 f　　"In April and May as the central government began tightening housing policies, some developers sold apartments at discounts, and then their sales volume rebounded," Li said.
　　The government tightened property policies in April, and the impact was almost immediate.
* t8 B6 P- w' j$ T. j　　Transaction volumes and prices dipped in major cities over the following two months, the first slowdown after almost a year of high-flying prices.
- c1 q3 F1 q+ F& v" q　　Some developers also held back project launches after the government's policy an-nouncements, exacerbating the decrease in transaction volumes, the agency said.
3 q( l* r1 N- G/ z2 k4 J. M　　But in August and September, many companies reported solid sales growth. China's largest listed property developer Vanke posted record sales of 14.2 billion yuan ($2.11 billion) last month, up 160 percent from a year ago.
( l  }' p6 b! [) @0 G　　In reaction to the rebound, the central government recently strengthened enforce-ment of real-estate policies already on the books since April and increased down payment requirements for first homebuyers to 30 percent.