China hits property policy jam as regional market gap widens

Tangshan, China

WHILE property prices in top-tier Chinese cities are booming, prices in smaller cities, where most of China's urban population lives, are still sinking, complicating government efforts to spread wealth more evenly and arrest slowing economic growth.

Property has a special place in the psyche of Chinese investors, far outstripping stocks and bonds as a vehicle for their savings, so sliding property prices have a big impact on individual wealth and domestic consumption.