Commercial housing sales in Beijing fell 12 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of the year, a sign that the red-hot property market has begun to cool down, the municipal statistics bureau said Monday
The total area of commercial housing sold slumped to 6.32 million square meters in Beijing during the January-September period.
The total area of commercial housing sold slumped to 6.32 million square meters during the January-September period, the Beijing statistics bureau said in a press release.
Prices of new homes in the city have shown zero month-on-month growth for four straight months, while prices of pre-owned homes fell 0.4 percent month-on-month in September, according to the National Statistics Bureau.
The slump has been attributed to the government's tightening measures, which include higher mortgage rates, a ban on third-home mortgage loans and purchase restrictions.
However, sales of affordable housing for low-income earners jumped to 1.98 million square meters during the January-September period, up 120 percent year-on-year, the press release said.
Construction began on 13.75 million square meters of affordable housing during the nine-month period, up 470 percent year-on-year, as the city government has been building more such housing to help tame high housing prices.
