Although the sharp rises and declines of housing prices to some extent reflect the unhealthy state of the property market, the basic principles of business activities will always remain.

The rebates offered by developers have other ramifications. What if buyers enter the market only because they are assured of rebates from developers and the government if housing price falls? This poses even bigger problems for the property market.

Zhu Jialin (www.fdc.com.cn): The price fluctuations in the real estate sector are a normal phenomenon, and the state should not directly interfere with the market. It can only issue regulatory policies to curb sharp price increases, and it should never fix housing prices. But it's normal for developers to adjust housing prices, and they are not obligated to refund those who have purchased expensive houses when the prices begin to drop. Besides, buying property is conducted on the basis of a bilateral agreement.

Many people believe that once property prices begin to fall, those who have already bought houses will suffer a big loss, and only the developers' refunds can relieve this sentiment. However, buying a house is the same as buying any other product on the market. You wouldn't be refunded if the price of groceries dropped, so why should you be refunded for a drop in property prices?

Che Derui (www.soufun.com): Many people are under the mistaken belief that housing prices are decided by developers. As a result, when the prices begin to fall, they all point fingers at developers, arguing that they set the prices too high several years ago. If the prices are really decided by developers, then let them stick to the high prices and see what will happen against the background of a dim market.

In the final analysis, housing prices are decided by the market. The recessive property market will not only hurt those who have already purchased houses, but the developers will also lose huge profits, and some of them may even fold.

In a market economy, it's impossible that property prices will keep climbing. Even without the government's regulatory efforts, the housing prices will still drop after they become unaffordable to most home buyers.

The call for housing price rebates is a clear indication that China's property market is not yet mature.

Wu Ma (www.ycwb.com): I believe when more and more Chinese cities begin to see housing prices decline, more people will ask for rebates from developers. At the same time, when more home buyers become victims of their depreciating property, society as a whole will tend to show more sympathy to their demand for rebates.

If one supports the home buyers' requests, they have to acknowledge the following rights of developers: First, a housing price decline will cause the lands developers have purchased from the government to depreciate, so developers should be allowed to return the land back to the government, or they should be refunded by the government. Second, if housing prices begin to rise instead of dropping, developers should be allowed to ask home buyers to pay the price differences. However, I believe few people will agree with them.

Anyone involved in trade is supposed to absorb losses or profits by itself. This is the basic market rule.