Henan official whose family owns 31 houses arrested – and more of today’s China Real Estate Links | January 16, 2013

Here is a list of the day’s latest China real estate news collected from around the web:

• Henan official whose family owns 31 houses arrested

  A former housing administration official whose family once owned 31 houses in Henan province was arrested on suspicion of corruption.
  Zhai Zhenfeng, 50, who was director of the housing administration bureau in Erqi district of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, was arrested on Sunday night, the people’s procuratorate of Zhengzhou announced.
  The prosecutor found that Zhai’s family once owned as many as 31 houses, of which seven had been sold when the family’s assets were exposed by a whistle-blower on the Internet on Dec 26.

• SOHO China Sues Rival Over Style Theft

  Real estate developer Soho China has filed a lawsuit against Chongqing Meiquan Property over a replica of its Wangjing Soho development in Beijing that is designed by British architect Zaha Hadid.

  Soho China CEO Pan Shiyi has warned Meiquan via his official weibo last May and demanded Meiquan to change the exterior of the building and offer a public apology. Recently, architect Zaha Hadid’s lawyer announced similar demand, with added request that the copycats cease construction immediately and provide compensation.

• Shanghai Housing Market Posts Huge Sales Spike

  Shanghai’s housing bubble took a deep and hefty breath last week as sales prices rose 17.3 percent in one of China’s richest cities.

  New home sales hit 264,200 square meters in a week with average prices stable to declining, coming in at 20,677 yuan ($3,282) per square meter, Shanghai Deovolente Realty Co said.

• Developers rally on talk of delay in expanding property tax

  Mainland property stocks have been buoyed by a senior tax official’s comment published yesterday that the nation is likely to postpone the expansion of its trial property tax to more cities.

  Wang Kang, the chief accountant of the State Administration of Taxation, said “property taxes impact the national economy and people’s livelihood and an expansion needs to be discussed more widely”, according to Xinhua, which quoted a report in the Economic Information Daily yesterday.

This list is updated daily, so tune in again tomorrow for more up to date information.