China ban on sale of homes on rural land remains

[BEIJING] China has reinforced a ban on selling property built by villages or farmers on rural land, state media reported yesterday, dashing hopes for a quick policy change after a top-level party meeting.

The Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development have jointly issued an urgent circular ordering a halt to sales of "small-property-rights housing", which is built on rural land without going through state planning, the Economic Information Daily said.

Expectations that the government may relax controls on sales of such property rose after the party meeting this month pledged to allow rural construction land to be traded in a unified urban-rural market, enjoying the same rights and prices as state-owned land.