Money
Used property sales bounce back after tax induced slump
By Wang Ru (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-18 07:50
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Beijing's second-hand housing market appears to be witnessing a revival, after a lengthy low caused by a strict tax policy.
As many as 1,007 units were traded yesterday, of which 968 were residential apartments, according to www.bjfdc.gov.cn, an official website associated with Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, which records all housing purchases in the city.
This continued a high run of sales that started Tuesday, when 1,142 apartments were traded - the first day the number had broken 1,000 in the new lunar year.
Real estate insiders believe it signals the revival of the market after a three-month depression.
From September 2009, Beijing's second-hand housing market fell sharply due to the expiration of a government policy that previously exempted apartments purchased during the last two years from transfer tax.
From last Monday, however, the market began to improve. According to official records pulled from the website, the second-house transaction volume in March is already 10,362 units, equal to the total amount sold in February.
Statistics taken from 5i5j, a domestic real estate agency, state the average price of a second-hand house within the eight downtown districts was 20,794 yuan per sq m, a 3.76 percent rise on February figures.
The need for dwellings was claimed as a major factor in the recent recovery, compared to last year's market growth in which investment and speculation played stronger roles.
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Industry analysts pointed out that the skyrocketing land price was a key cause of the move away from investment-led purchasing.
"The market will stay warm in the remaining days of March," said Xu Chao, project director of the investment consultant department from Centaline Property in Beijing.
He attributed the rapid increase in sales to newlyweds, following a peak marriage time over the Spring Festival.
On Monday, the gross auction price of commercial residential land was broken twice in day, both times by State-owned real estate developers.
"The record-breaking land price stimulated the whole real estate market in Beijing and infused strong confidence in the second-hand market," Xu said.
