Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai has imposed two new taxes on residential property transactions in its latest move to cool down an overheating real estate market.
Starting today, the government will levy a 5 percent fee on the total value of an apartment sold within 24 months of ownership, the Shanghai Housing and Land Administrative Bureau said last night.
In addition, the contract tax paid by buyers will be doubled to 3 percent on apartments considered to be in the "luxury" price range.
The tax for residential property designated as "affordable" will remain at 1.5 percent.
Where the price line falls under the new rules depends on location.
Within the Inner-Ring Road, an "affordable" apartment is priced below 17,500 yuan (US$2,108) a square meter and is less than 140 square meters in size, according to the land bureau's statement. Anything above those thresholds falls into the "luxury" category.
Affordable apartments located between the Inner-Ring Road and the Outer-Ring Road are those that sell for less than 10,000 yuan a square meter and are below 140 square meters.
The figure falls to less than 7,000 yuan a square meter for apartments outside the Outer-Ring Road.
Industry experts said the new policies are expected to result in further adjustments to Shanghai's residential market.
"Investors and some speculators used to focus on the city's residential properties. The new stringent policies will surely curb demand in the sector," said Lina Wong, East China managing director for Colliers International, a property services provider.
"More taxes will influence new apartment sales and transaction volume in the existing housing market."
Individual home buyers need to recalculate their investment returns based on the higher cost, analysts said.
"Shanghai's real estate market is becoming mature, while the yield may edge downwards," Wong said. "Some investors may shift their focus to commercial properties."
All the new policies that have been rolled out this year have been geared toward the rising residential sector. Shanghai's average residential housing prices rose by more than 20 percent to exceed US$1,000 a square meter last year from a year earlier.
Among the moves designed to rein in speculation in the residential sector, Shanghai earlier imposed a 5.55 percent capital gains tax on people selling residential property units that had been held for less than 12 months. Property sellers are also now required to pay off the mortgage if the transaction is made within 12 months of purchase.
"Actually, commercial property is being favored by overseas investors for its stable return," said Wong.
Even with that shift, China Construction Bank said in Beijing yesterday that it has adjusted the structure of its real estate loans to give priority to residential customers.
The CCB said the move was tied to nation's macroeconomic strategies and its view of the current situation in the real estate market. It said it will target its loans to areas where the market is well managed and cut back in speculative areas.