Housing prices in China have surprised almost everyone by surging since 2000, despite the government's efforts to cool them, with the property developers' expectations for steady growth and experts' fear that the bubble could burst. The country's investment in real estate increased at an annual rate of more than 20% for five consecutive years starting from 2000. Although the growth rate has dropped in 2005, it was still at 19.8%.
June 30 2006