IN order to rectify crooked promotion in the housing market, the Shenzhen Municipal Market Regulation Administration and the Shenzhen Municipal Housing and Construction Bureau jointly undertook a law enforcement campaign Monday against falsely advertising “xuequfang,” apartments that are in a school catchment area.

The market regulation administration dispatched 362 law enforcement officers to inspect 71 housing estates for sale and 55 real estate agencies. Fourteen cases resulted in orders to make rectifications on site and 28 cases were to be investigated.

A housing estate called “Jixiang Yuefu” in Longgang District is one example.

“The real estate agency hyped that the project offers xuequfang and has a Metro station near the estate, because they wanted to take advantage of buyers’ education and commuting needs. Although it has been confirmed by the education bureau that Jixiang Yuefu cannot guarantee school seats, the agency put the official documents at the end of its advertising materials, which made it difficult for consumers to notice it,” said He Zhenhua, an official from the market regulation administration.

He added that both positive and negative factors must be listed equally in advertisements.

The huge difference between the giant banners and the unnoticed official documents would likely cause misjudgment, which is typical of false advertisement.

Another example of false advertising is the advertisement released by the property Chuanqi Donghu Garden in Luohu District, which used the phrase “one-stop and worry-free education” that implied consumers could buy a house to guarantee a school seat. Chuanqi Donghu Garden was ordered to make rectifications on site by the officers.

Misleading promotion in the housing market has been reduced due to some actions carried out by authorities in recent years. There are no obvious false advertisements on the market now, but more agencies are now exploring the grey area so the public must become more vigilant, officers said.

“It is necessary to remind the public to be aware of the sales staff’s words, as any oral form of false or misleading advertising is difficult to prove. Before buying a property, confirm the information provided by the agency with authorities like the education bureau and construction bureau,” said Fang Canyu from the market regulation administration.  

(Jiang Wenyi)