Home prices in China march higher

Experts say property prices - especially in Shanghai - could continue to go up at a fast rate during the next few months because of a buying spree triggered by talk of the possible removal of the favorable mortgage policy.

Fang Xinghai, director of Shanghai's financial services office, suggested at an annual financial meeting last Monday that the government might be prompted to tighten its loose monetary policy in a bid to clamp down on excessive speculation. Experts fear such speculation could feed a property market bubble.

Fang's observation was taken seriously by many would-be homebuyers.

Thirty-year-old Luo Yan and her husband raced to complete the purchase of a three-bedroom apartment in Shanghai with the help of an 800,000 yuan ($117,000) mortgage. The amount they borrowed was the maximum they qualified for.

"I am afraid that if we don't do something now, we will certainly miss the boat," Luo said.

Joe Zhou, research head at property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle, said in the following months, "we expect house prices will remain at a high level, bolstered by increasingly strong demand and limited supply."