China's Once-Hot Property Market Turns Polar

Flexible marketing strategies that helped some residential real estate developers beat 2011 sales targets may prove no match for government policymakers who've taken a rigid stance on housing market controls for 2012.

Thus, the credit and home buying controls phased in by the government since 2010 are likely to have more of their desired effects by cooling home prices and discouraging flat-flipping in coming months.