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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Business -> 
Property agents leave Hainan as sales plunge
    2018-06-14  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

TOUGH measures to cool the property market in China’s resort island of Hainan have put the brakes on a real estate boom as the government tries to rein in prices.

Home prices in Hainan recorded China’s second-fastest monthly price increase in April, spurred by China’s commitment to promote the island province as a tourism hub and free trade zone.

But new measures in April restricting non-residents from buying homes on the island, where non-locals normally comprise about 80 percent of purchases, have caused sales to plunge.

Other measures include forbidding homeowners to sell properties within five years of purchase.

Home transactions in Hainan in terms of area fell 14 percent in May compared with April, and were down 41 percent from a year ago, according to the real estate research firm CRIC. Official home price data for May is due to be released Friday.

The tough new measures in Hainan came after prices jumped by more than 50 percent in some developments after the government announced the creation of the free trade zone in mid-April.

Property agents in the resort island are now packing their bags as they seek greener pastures in other provinces.

Li Xuelong, a Hainan property agent, said a number of colleagues had left the island in the past month, while many clients had cancelled purchases after authorities introduced what they described as China’s “most stringent tightening measures.”

“Many of my colleagues have moved to Guangxi and Yunnan to look for business opportunities,” Li said, referring to two provinces nearby that are also popular with tourists.

The tropical island had attracted many buyers looking for holiday homes or property for speculation. Buyers came mainly from northern inland areas, where temperatures can fall below 30 degrees Celsius in winter.

The cooling property market could have a ripple effect on tourism projects in the resort province, industry watchers said.

“Many developers entered Hainan to sell to outsiders,” said Andy Lee, chief executive with Centaline South China, a realtor. “Many of them are engaged in tourism property, so the tourism business is for facilitating the property business. Now with the main business going under water, the tourism projects may have to be suspended.”

The Central Government hopes Hainan will reduce its reliance on real estate, but Lee said the transformation could take a big toll on local government coffers, which derive more than 50 percent of their income from real estate.

(SD-Agencies)

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