Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng called for a slowing of excessive rises in property prices, in another attempt by the local government to talk down the booming market amid fears of surging housing costs.
The Mayor said that overall commercial and residential property prices in 2003, estimated to have risen by at least 20%, were rising too fast and the growth rate must be kept within single digits in 2004.
Investment in property development surged more than 20% last year to just over RMB 90 billion, Shanghai Statistical Bureau figures show.