【英语中国】不靠谱的中国房价数据

Given the importance of China's property sector to the global economy, the National Bureau of Statistics revelation Monday that there were problems with real-estate price data in Shanghai was worrying.

But it isn't just the quality of the property data in China that's an issue, it's also the transparency and clarity with which it's presented -- and on that front, the statistics bureau itself could use some improvement.

The bureau's statement said that an ad hoc investigation showed data collected from government surveys of property companies in Shanghai were inaccurate, because some companies failed to properly compile property-price data.

Spot checks on property companies in Shanghai revealed various problems, including failure to provide accurate information and indifference among employees to price data. The statement said the Shanghai investigation team will step up efforts to train relevant staff in property companies on how to accurately report such data.

It's unclear whether there might be similar problems in other localities, but one thing's for sure: The statistics bureau can be inconsistent or unclear when it issues property data.

For instance, the Shanghai branch of the statistics bureau said Friday that, in terms of floor area, sales of new homes in Shanghai fell 48% to 9.11 million square meters in the first seven months of 2010 from a year earlier, but it did not provide comparative figures for 2009.

The statistics bureau also sometimes seems to practice selective amnesia -- or at least sloppiness -- in its monthly release of property price data of 70 major cities. The statement on May property data included a massive month-over-month decline in sales volume in terms of floor space and value.

But those were missing in the subsequent June and July statements. Such data are easily calculated by readers, but the omission gives a sense of sloppiness on the bureau's part rather than a deliberate attempt at hiding the information.

The statistics bureau didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Many property analysts do their own research on price and volume trends, because the official data are so hard to rely on. So when it comes to improving data reporting, the statistics bureau may need to practice more what it preaches.

于中国地产业对全球经济至关重要，国家统计局周一披露上海地产价格数据存在问题的消息令人担忧。

有问题的不光是中国地产数据的质量，还有其编制时的透明度和清晰度，在这方面，国家统计局自身也应该有所改进。

国家统计局声明称，专项调查显示，政府对上海地产企业调查中收集的数据不准确，因为一些企业未能正确编制地产价格数据。

对上海地产企业的现场检查揭示了种种问题，其中包括未能提供准确的信息，以及企业雇员对价格数据不重视。声明表示，上海调查总队将在如何准确汇报此类数据方面对地产企业相关人员进行培训。

目前尚不清楚其他地方是否也存在类似的问题，但一件事是肯定的：国家统计局在公布地产数据时，可能会互相矛盾或含糊不清。

例如，上海市统计局上周五表示，以房屋面积计算，2010年头七个月上海新住宅销量较上年同期下降48% 至911万平方米，但没有提供2009年的比较数据。

在每月公布全国70个主要城市房价数据时，国家统计局有时似乎也是选择性遗忘，至少是草率马虎。5月地产数据声明显示，房屋面积销量和销售额较前月大幅下降。

但6月和7月地产数据声明中，这些就被遗漏了。读者很容易计算出这些数据，但这一遗漏让人感觉统计局做事马马虎虎，而非刻意隐藏信息。

国家统计局没有立即回复进行置评的要求。

由于很难依靠官方数据，许多地产分析师自行研究房价和成交量趋势。所以就改善数据汇报来说，国家统计局自身可能也应该更多地执行它所宣扬的做法。