ALMOST 80 percent of Shanghai people looking to buy new homes have put plans on hold, a national quarterly survey has revealed.

They are adopting a "wait-and-see" approach in anticipation of prices falling, following the latest round of rein-in policies.

The survey, launched by China Economic Monitoring and Analysis Center, a unit under the National Bureau of Statistics, and Sina.com, China's leading internet portal, questioned residents in 16 cities.

Shanghai ranked 12th in an index measuring home buyers' confidence in the residential property market, indicating a sluggish housing market in the third quarter compared to other cities.

Across the country, Beijing was last, while Guangzhou ranked 13th. Shenzhen was the best performer among four first-tier cities with a position of No.5.

A set of rein-in policies, introduced in September, which forbid loans for third homes and tightenmortgage terms on second houses, indicated once again that central government will remain tough in its efforts to keep property speculation in check.

These policies have played an major role in damping down the housing market, analysts said.

Some 77.6 percent of Shanghai people surveyed said they had postponed home buying plans; 28.4 percent said they would delay until towards the end of the year, 36.5 percent said they would wait until next year and 12.8 percent said they would even delay their plans to 2012, according to the survey.

The survey also found that 36 percent of people believed that more tightening measures will be launched by the government to further cool down the market, while 29.4 percent thought existing measures would be gradually loosened.

Around 10 percent of people anticipated no changes in the government stance, while the rest said they found it difficult to judge at the moment.

The results of the survey have been echoed by some analysts. "With increasing 'wait-and-see' sentiment in the market, real estate developers will probably continue to offer price discounts in the fourth quarter to entice buyers," said Fu Qi, a researchdirector at China Real Estate Information Corp's Shanghai branch.

Shao Minghao, research head at Shanghai Hanyu Property Consulting Co Ltd, one of the city's leading estate chain operators, expected a "rather mild" decline in house price over the coming months.

"From now till March, housing prices in Shanghai might decline by a maximum of 10 percent," he said.

Shao added that the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which will be held in March, could prove to be a critical time for policy-making in the sector.

• survey [´sə:vei] vt.&n.俯瞰；审视；测量 (初中英语单词)
• analysis [ə´næləsis] n.分解；分析(结果) (初中英语单词)
• bureau [´bjuərəu] n.局；编辑部；事务所 (初中英语单词)
• forbid [fə´bid] vt.禁止，不许，阻止 (初中英语单词)
• sentiment [´sentimənt] n.情绪；多愁善感 (初中英语单词)
• estate [i´steit] n.财产；庄园；等级 (初中英语单词)
• research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
• director [di´rektə] n.指导者；....长；导演 (初中英语单词)
• conference [´kɔnfərəns] n.讨论(会)；会谈 (初中英语单词)
• tighten [´taitn] v.(使)变(拉)紧 (高中英语单词)
• mortgage [´mɔ:gidʒ] a.&vt.抵押 (高中英语单词)
• speculation [,spekju´leiʃən] n.思索，推测；投机 (高中英语单词)
• maximum [´mæksiməm] n.极点 a.最大的 (高中英语单词)
• critical [´kritikəl] a.批评的；关键性的 (高中英语单词)
• anticipation [æn,tisi´peiʃən] n.预期；预料；期望 (英语四级单词)
• statistics [stə´tistiks] n.统计学；统计 (英语四级单词)
• portal [´pɔ:tl] n.(正)门；隧道 (英语四级单词)
• entice [in´tais] vt.诱惑；怂恿 (英语四级单词)
• sluggish [´slʌgiʃ] a.呆滞的；偷懒的 (英语六级单词)
• performer [pə´fɔ:mə] n.执行者；表演者 (英语六级单词)