Off the wire
• China initiates contingency plan after DPRK's suspected nuclear test  • Putin, Erdogan discuss Russian-Turkish cooperation  • Champ Kipruto eyes steeplechase world record in Brussels meeting  • Tokyo stocks drop in morning on reports of possible DPRK nuke test  • More than 700 mln adults held back by illiteracy, says UNESCO  • Cable car accident leaves 45 trapped overnight near French Mont Blanc  • President of Sierra Leone Football Association arrested in graft probe  • 4th LD Writethru: S. Korea believes DPRK may have conducted its "most powerful" nuke test  • Voting card envelopes for Austrian presidential elections draw concerns of tampering  • Spotlight: Chinese premier stresses China' s stance on South China Sea issue  
You are here: 　 Home

7 detained for spreading rumors about property restrictions

Xinhua, September 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Seven real estate agents in Shanghai have been detained for spreading rumors about new government property restrictions, which have been blamed for a jump in divorce rates and a buying frenzy in China's commercial hub, local police announced Thursday night.

The seven suspects, who allegedly spread rumors online over new property curbs for better sales and commission fees, have been blamed for affecting the stability of the local housing market, according to a police statement.

Rumors have spread on social media and websites since late August that under a new regulation in the city starting Sept. 1, those who have been divorced less than a year will face restrictions and higher minimum down payments and mortgage interest rates.

The rumors allegedly triggered a rush to marriage registrar's offices in Shanghai, even though the city government later denied it was planning any changes to the city's home purchasing rules.

Home sales in the city nearly doubled in the week of August 22-28 compared with the previous week, with home buyers snapping up 555,700 square meters of floor space in anticipation of stricter rules, data from the research unit of real estate chain Lianjia showed.

Housing prices also went up 5.6 percent from the previous week to nearly 43,700 yuan per square meter, it said. Endi