SHANGHAI now requires all real estate properties in the city to get registered under a unified system, in a bid to strengthen regulation and control speculation.

The move won't affect people whose properties are already registered and have clear-cut ownership, but will demand those having group ownership or government-subsidized ownership to identify their assets and pay due compensations.

Announced by the Shanghai Municipal Planning and Land Resources Administration, the city is fully implementing property registration rules from today. Property owners need to register their real estate ownerships rather than properties, receiving "certificate of property rights" and "real estate registration certificate".