Economy

Beijing land sales down in January-Feb

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-02 14:02

BEIJING - Land sales in Beijing plunged in the first two months of this year, the municipal bureau of land and resources said Tuesday.

This came due to seasonal factors and the toughest measure ever to restrict home purchases, analysts said.

The Beijing municipal government netted 13.24 billion yuan ($2 billion) from land sales during the January-February period, sharply down from 56.7 billion yuan in December last year alone, the bureau said in a statement.

The Chinese capital earned 163.7 billion yuan ($24.9 billion) from land sales last year, the highest among all 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland.

Of 11 plots of land sold for commercial development last month, only two plots were designated for housing development, it said.

"This is only a temporary phenomenon," said Zhang Yue, chief analyst of real estate agency Homelink. "Usually, the majority of land for housing development is put on sale in the second half."

Related readings:  Beijing tightens restrictions on flat buying  Home price growth slowed in February  Jan property prices rise in most cities  Beijing's first public rent apartment building roofed

The slump in home sales following further cooling measures could also affect the sales of land for housing development, thus prompting more property developers to snap up land for commercial property, Zhang said.

In mid last month, the Beijing municipal government moved to prohibit home purchases from non-local registered families who have no proof of social security or income tax payments in the city for five straight years.

It also prohibit new home purchases by Beijing families who own two or more apartments and non-Beijing registered families who own at least one apartment.

The latest efforts came on top of other tightening measures, including higher down payment and lending rates and a ban on mortgage loans for third homes.