Residential property prices in Guangzhou fell to their lowest in
two years last month, according to a report recently released by
Guangzhou Land Resources and Housing Management Bureau.
The average price of residential properties in March was 7,029
yuan (US$900) per sq m, down 9 percent from 7,729 yuan in
February.
The average price of residential properties in the districts of
Tianhe, Liwan, Baiyun, Huangpu, Luogang, Huadu and Nansha all
dipped in March, while the suburban district of Baiyun fell the
most, by abut 800 yuan per sq m to 6,353 yuan.
Prices in Yuexiu, Haizhu and Panyu districts rose by 100 yuan to
200 yuan per sq m.
There were also movements in other areas last month. The number
of residential transactions fell, along with apartment purchases
and overall transaction volume.
According to the report, there were 13,963 property transactions
registered in March, a drop of 14.3 percent from February. Their
cumulative space was 1.40 million sq m, down 23.4 percent.
The total value of the transactions was 7.76 billion yuan
(US$995 million), down 13 percent.
Li Wenjiang, chief analyst of Hopefluent Real Properties,
attributed the decline in the city's residential apartments to
recent measures the city government took to keep prices under
control.
The measures included the expansion of land supplies, heftier
investment in the development of "economical houses" for low-income
families, reclaiming unused land, streamlining procedures for
housing approval and releasing house prices on time.
There was also a recent campaign by 11 government departments to
expose property developers' tricks and improper behavior relating
to property developments, marketing and sales activities.
Li said that the heating-up of the stock and fund markets had
also have attracted people away from the real estate market.
"That probably resulted in the fall of total transactions, a
soothed market demand and a price drop," he said.
Han Shitong, a property analyst with Guangzhou Real Estate
Association, disagreed.
"I wish the fall was the fruit of the city government's efforts
to curb soaring property prices," he said. "But we can't ignore the
fact that a surge in transactions in suburban districts, where the
price is much lower, accounted for the average price fall in
March."
(China Daily April 17, 2007)