MORE than 80 percent of new homes up for sale at two housing projects were sold over the weekend, with buyers citing fears that inflation could keep rising.
The sales bucked the trend set by the city government s reining in of skyrocketing housing prices a month ago.
According to yesterday s Southern Metropolis Daily, 200 new homes were sold at a housing estate in Longgang District on Saturday for an average price of 18,000 yuan (US$2,687) per square meter. The developer put 256 homes on sale that day.
The paper quoted an industry insider as saying that excess liquidity and the fear of rising inflation were behind the rapid sale of the properties.
Also the prices were relatively low, making the homes attractive, said Zhang Wei, a senior real estate analyst. The first phase of the housing project had previously sold at an average price of 20,000 yuan per square meter.
If there had not been a home purchase limit, the prices would have gone through the roof, Zhang added.
Under current government policies, residents with Shenzhen hukou can buy no more than two homes while those without Shenzhen hukou are eligible to buy only one.
Another new estate in Luohu District also saw about 80 percent of apartments sold in one day Saturday. Most people bought the properties for their own use, the paper said.
The government s tightening measures target speculators, but quite a number of people in Shenzhen still don t own homes, said Wang Haibin, chief analyst for Centaline Property.
Wang said people who are still able to buy properties under the government policy are choosing to buy homes now as inflation is expected to continue rising.
(SD News)
