Resistance at local level stalls property database

The mainland's plan for a property database, once hailed as an antidote to corruption, has stalled amid resistance from local governments that illustrates the difficulty Beijing faces in driving through anti-graft reforms.

The database is not only seen as vital for authorities to control a frothy housing market, it would also force corrupt local officials to come clean about properties bought from ill-gotten gains, industry experts say.

President Xi Jinping has called corruption a threat to the Communist Party's survival but, as the failure of the property database initiative to gain traction shows, top-down plans to root out graft can be stymied by entrenched interests at the local level.

"There are various concerns over the possible consequences of the nationwide database, especially for some officials who have the power of affecting the process," said Chen Guoqiang, vice-chairman of China Real Estate Society. "They will delay such moves intentionally."

The database, which would enable users to see how many properties a person owns and details about the homes, has been in the works since 2010. It would also show additional property purchases by homeowners, which would aid the central government in cooling speculation in urban housing markets.

Although much of that information is already collected in some form by authorities, local officials have baulked at the idea of an easily searchable, central record of home purchases.

The first 40 major cities enlisted in the plan refused to sign on until the housing ministry agreed the information they disclosed would not be made publicly available, industry experts said.