Average Beijing housing price drops 24.6% in wake of strict policy

Average Beijing housing price drops 24.6% in wake of strict policy

• Source: Global Times
• [08:32 March 17 2011]
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The average price per square meter of new apartments in Beijing has dropped by 24.6 percent to 19,143 yuan ($2,913.56) after the government's latest market tightening policies took effect, the first sign that the city's red-hot property market is cooling, according to statistics released Wednesday.

However, compared to the same period last year, prices have still risen by 5.7 percent, according to figures from B.A. Consulting and 5i5j.com, a real estate agency.

The city rolled out a tough new policy on February 16 that prohibits housing purchases by families without a Beijing hukou who lack proof of social security or income tax payments in the capital for five straight years. It also forbids new house purchases by Beijing families who already own two or more apartments and non-Beijing hukou holders who own at least one home.

New residential apartments sold in Beijing over the January-February period totalled 1.32 million square meters, down 21.1 percent year on year, according to data from the Beijing Municipal Statistics Bureau.

Beijing housing prices have soared out of control in recent years. Last year, one square meter in a new apartment sold for an average of 20,000 yuan. But the square meter price for apartments within the Fourth Ring Road, the city's central urban area, exceeded 34,000 yuan, more than 10 times the monthly income of an average Beijing resident.

Global Times - Xinhua