July 28, China is expected to update the list of cities where home-buying restrictions apply within the next 2 months, as the government looks to extend the measure to cities where housing prices are being driven up by speculative buying, according to a local newspaper.
The updated list will include more third and fourth-tier cities in East and South China, the official Shanghai Securities News reported, citing a person close to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
At a meeting of the State Council, China’s cabinet, on July 15, officials called for existing property measures to be extended to cities where prices are climbing but that haven’t yet been covered.
Housing prices remain high in a number of cities that have not introduced housing measures, including Zhuhai, Zhangjiagang, Jiaxing and Yangzhou, all of which are in the eastern and southern parts of the country, according to data from the China Real Estate Index System (CREIS) cited by the paper. The CREIS is developed by the China Index Academy.
South China
The average house price in the southern city of Zhuhai reached RMB 12,283 per square meter in the first 6 months, up more than 40% year-on-year, the report said. The city, located next to Macao, is one of China’s 5 special economic zones.
The city is regarded as one of the most promising areas along the Pearl River Delta and is drawing a steady stream of investors -- including speculative buyers.
Last October Zhuhai, with the approval of the cabinet, expanded its special economic zone to include the whole city, the fourth expansion since zone was established in 1980. Its economic potential is being nurtured through a series of massive projects, including the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Mass Rapid Transit, the Hong Kong-Macao-Zhuhai Bridge and the development of the Hengqin area.
Housing prices are also growing steadily in other cities in Guangdong province, including Zhongshan, Huizhou and Dongguan. Guangdong is one of China’s southernmost provinces and home to some of the nation’s largest manufacturing centers.
“Average home prices here have risen to RMB 8,000-RMB 9,000 per square meter from around RMB 6,000 before,” a salesperson from a Dongguan-based property was quoted as saying by the paper.
“At another project, apartments were sold at RMB 6,650 per square meter on average in 2009, but [the price] rose to RMB 6,800 in 2010, and now that figure has exceeded RMB 8,000,” the salesperson added.
Authorities in Dongguan, which is linked by a 20-minute train to Shenzhen, said earlier that the city would not need home-buying restrictions as home prices were at a “controllable” level.
Average home prices in Dongguan climbed 16.8% y-o-y in the first half to RMB 8,179 per square meter, according to data compiled by real estate agency Hopefluent Group’s Dongguan branch.
edited by Kendra KE