(BEIJING) Chinese companies in Shanghai have falsified answers in replies to some surveys by the national statistics agency, calling into question the reliability of the country’s property market data.

The problems, from omitting information to reporting incorrect prices, were identified by the Shanghai arm of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The NBS announced the findings on its website (www.stats.gov.cn) yesterday, but it did not say that any of its specific surveys or reports had incorrectly characterised the country’s housing market conditions.

Data about China’s housing prices is in large part derived from surveys conducted by the NBS. The Chinese public has long been critical of some of the figures, saying that they understate how expensive property has become.

A striking example of discrepancies within official data came to light last week. The NBS said housing prices in 70 major cities, the index most closely watched by the market, were unchanged in July from June.

But the National Development and Reform Commission said property prices in 36 key cities actually rose 1.6 per cent in July from June, according to information gathered by that agency’s price monitoring bureau. — Reuters

Source: Business Times, 24 Aug 2010