Shanghai Financial Center

Despite the economic downturn, 2010 will see more skyscrapers completed around the world than in any single year in history, according to the organization that tracks the industry.

More than 100 buildings of 200 meters or taller are due to finish this year, which is more than the total already in existence in New York and Hong Kong combined, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat says.

“It is not just height, but the sheer volume of high-rise buildings set to be completed in 2010 that is astonishing,” the organization reports.

In many ways, the flurry of activity in 2010 is simply a fluke, the delayed residue of the go-go years, when these projects were financed. In 2009, the number of completed skyscrapers fell by 28 percent from 2008, thanks, in large part, to the unprecedented number of skyscrapers built in the United Arab Emirates in 2008.

As more and more investors eye the Chinese property market, evidence is growing that a real estate bubble is forming, at least one expert believes.

"I do see all of the signs of a credit induced real estate bubble that I think is going to be a doozy," Kynikos Associates founder James Chanos told CNBC.

Chanos, a hedge fund manager, has been trumpeting the possibility of volatility in the market for weeks. In interviews this week he emphasized an “impending crash” is not imminent, but the bubble in China is “unprecedented.” There are about 30 billion square feet of commercial space under construction only, he said.

“Looking at companies, I'd be very leery of companies who are exporting materials to China to build up this construction bubble,” said Chanos, who CNBC introduced as a “famed short seller.”

Fearing a new property bubble, the Chinese government this week imposed new measures to restrict foreign investors and speculators.

In total, the government called for 11 measures, including measures to curb the flow of so-called “hot money” from foreign markets. “Excessively rising housing prices” in some cities call for “great attention,” the government announced.

As part of the plans, the government is moving to “strengthen monitoring of capital flow and trans-boundary investment and financing activities so as to prevent credit from entering the real estate sector illegally and stop overseas speculative funds from jeopardizing China's property market,” according to a government release.

The government will also move to “guide reasonable housing consumption and curb speculative investments.” Earlier this month the government imposed a sales tax on homes sold within five years of purchase, increasing the time period from two years.