Divergent China housing markets 'pose issues'

Shanghai

CHINA'S top housing official has warned that the nation's severely divergent housing markets are posing challenges to government regulations, after stimulus intended to boost sluggish real estate investment led to a home-buying frenzy in first-tier cities.

The "substantial gap" between the nation's top cities and lower-tier regions is widening, challenging the government's regulation, Chen Zhenggao, head of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said on Tuesday at a press conference during annual legislative meetings in Beijing. While home sales nationwide have stabilised and started to rebound, the inventory issue is "still serious", mainly in the third and fourth-tier areas, he said.