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Housing transactions tumble in H1

2010-07-02 11:11

Not counting economically affordable and price-limit houses, 41,457 residential units were sold in Beijing in the first half of this year, down 43.9 percent from the same period last year, National Business Daily reported Friday.

According to a report issued by Beijing Homelink Real Estate Brokerage Co, a leading property agency in the capital, in the first half of 2010, the average price of secondhand property was 19,183 yuan ($2,828) per square meter, a jump of 62.8 percent over the same period last year.

The State Council, the country's Cabinet, rolled out a series of harsh measures in April to curb soaring home prices, including a tightened credit policy, an increase in down payment and higher interest rates for mortgage loans for second home purchases.

The Beijing government issued even tougher rules to curb housing speculation, banning all families from buying more than one house, from May 1.

Theses moves were believed to be the reasons behind the plunge in housing transactions in the capital city, and its effect on housing prices is happening gradually.

According to Yahao Real Estate, a Beijing-based property brokerage firm, Beijing had 21 housing projects go on sale in June, with an average opening price of 23,343 yuan per square meter, down 9.1 percent from May, said a report from Economic Information Daily.

Despite the government's efforts and tough rules aimed at cooling the runaway housing market, Beijing residents still think housing in the capital is too expensive.

In a survey conducted by the Beijing Statistics Bureau during April and May, more than 98 percent of respondents described prices in the city's housing market as "high" or "relatively high."

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