Shanghai police detain suspects over rumours that sparked home-buying chaos
Shanghai police detain suspects over rumours that sparked home-buying chaos
Law enforcers find the root of gossip which led to wide-spread panic
Shanghai authorities have identified the originator of rumours that the Chinese government will tighten home lending policies in the city, which led to frenzied buying in late August.
In a statement released Friday, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau named the alleged rumourmonger only as Shen, a 34-year-old property sales manager. Acting on a tip that city officials would discuss possible changes to mortgage rules in September, Shen began spreading the story in late August to six other people, mostly real estate agents, by way of the messenger app WeChat. The suspects, who have since admitted to starting the hearsay, were detained last Tuesday.
Shanghai’s commission of housing and urban-rural development has officially denied truth to the rumours, which had relatively devastating consequences, including the crash of a government website from a flood of panicky home buyers. Many Shanghai couples also filed for divorce in order to secure the best rates as individual buyers.
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As gossip would have it, first-time home buyers will only be required to fork out 30 percent of the property price as downpayment, as opposed to 70 percent for those seeking a second home.
Following the suspects’ detention, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development commended the investigators and reiterated a warning online against real estate agents disrupting the “market order.”
Shanghai last introduced home buying curbs in March, when it increased downpayment requirements from 40 percent to 50 percent for second home buyers. Shanghai is one of the world’s hottest housing markets, with values up from 27 percent in the past year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
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Source: Property Report