In Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, almost 1,000 people queued for an entire day for a chance to buy one of 600 remotely located apartments in a new subdivision on the outskirts of the city. The development sold out immediately.

During an online forum, He Qian, former deputy director of the NBS, said the property market was "at an abnormal state" this year, and said housing prices were rising out of proportion.

Between January and October, 10 trillion yuan worth of consumer goods were sold, nearly half of which were the result of housing purchases, said Gu Yunchang, deputy head of the China Real Estate and Housing Research Association.

"That shows the housing market is still a support to the national economy recovery," Gu said.

In the first 10 months, both new housing and previously owned housing totaled 6 trillion yuan, Gu said.

Teng Tai, managing director of China Galaxy Securities Co, Ltd, said the fast-rising price of real estate leaves the government in a quandary.

On one hand, it would like to see a flourishing real estate market and enjoy the boost it will give GDP growth. On the other, the government would like to see stability, Teng said.

"An ideal solution for the government would be to pump more land supply into the market and to construct more government-subsidized housing and low-rent housing for low-income families."

(China Daily December 8, 2009)