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Eliminating risks from the housing market
HANGZHOU’S first online government register covering existing housing sales went into operation last week to bring more order to the market and crack down on illegal transactions and false advertising.
The new platform is believed to be the first of its kind in China, integrating the tracking of existing home sales with supervisory oversight of realtors. As such, it may serve as a model for other cities seeking to apply big data technology to the property market.
Under the new system, every house is now required to be registered on the government website before being offered for sale. Each certified house is given a trade number and a QR code. Realtors or other property platforms advertising a house online must display the code so that potential buyers can scan it to check authenticity.
The site allows property owners to upload their own houses on the platform. Meanwhile, buyers can search the site for homes matching their requirements. The website provides segmented online searches.
For traditional transactions, owners must sign an online consignment agreement with realtors or other agencies they entrust to sell a house. Copies will be made lest any disputes over a sale arise in the future.
Implementation of the new system comes just months after a scandal that attracted considerable attention. Last December, a local real estate agency uploaded information on a 25-square-meter flat priced at 6.6 million yuan (US$955,169). The sky-high price raised eyebrows and prompted an investigation by local authorities. It turned out that the agency hyped the advertisement to lure customers without getting permission from the homeowner.
The new system prevents realtors from changing prices on the sly. It also gives authorities sharper tools to monitor cases of phony prices.
This is the second time the government has taken action to bring more supervision to the existing housing market. Last November, an online realtor-supervision platform was established in order to oversee industry players.
That platform has now been merged with the new website. In addition to perusing housing stock, would-be buyers can also obtain information about property agencies, including credit ratings, trading volumes, public feedback and blacklists.
Real estate agents have been reaping huge benefits during a boom in existing home sales, making their occupation one of the best paid. That has attracted scalawags more interested in making profits than in adhering to the law.
Not long ago, 80 realtors in Hangzhou were arrested for leaking private information and illegally selling on client information.
“I gave my phone number to a realtor, and suddenly a lot of strangers kept calling me to peddle houses,” said Shirley Qian. “I wondered how they got my number. Then I realized that the realtor had sold them my information.”
She added, “The calls kept coming at all times of the day, and I had to explain that I had already bought a house and wasn’t interested in their sales pitch. But that didn’t stop the calls.”
Qian said she finally had to change her phone number to put a stop to it.
In addition to safeguarding privacy, the new platform is also aimed at eliminating fake online photos, a common problem in the existing home market.
Zhang Jingyun, 35, said she was recently looking at apartments to buy but found that the photos of the homes were a far cry from what was actually on offer.
“The pictures were always fancy and attractive,” she said. “I was often anxious to view the units. But when I finally did, the true situation was always disappointing. These agencies are trying to lure buying with false come-ons.”
The new platform requires realtors to use photos taken on site. Authorities will investigate any complaints of noncompliance and will do periodic spot checks to ensure that the rules are being followed.
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