Urban Housing Policy in China in the Macro-regulation Period 2004–2007

Since 2004, China's housing policy has entered into an adjustment period. The central government tries to take macro measures to regulate the urban housing market, with the purpose of enhancing long-term housing development and cooling down the overheated economy, which was partly caused by buoyant housing market activities. Local governments are also required to strengthen the security of housing. Thus, housing supply by both the market and government is to be integrated to meet the housing needs of urban citizens, and to guarantee low-income and some special urban groups' residential rights. This paper firstly gives a brief review of the development and transformation of the Chinese urban housing market and policies from 1998 to 2007, and then it analyses the urban housing policies formulated during the period of macro-economy adjustment from 2004 to 2007, including policy targets, preliminary policy effects and possible policy deficiency.