Developers will be forced to set the price of housing before bidding for a piece of land in a pilot scheme being tested in the capital to curb soaring property prices, Beijing News reported.

Under the new policy, the cost of the land will be set and the developer who offers to sell the homes at the lowest price will get the plot.

In the past, developers who bid the highest price for a piece of land would win the auction leading to an increase in property prices as they try to recoup their investment.

The first plot of land to be sold under the new policy was put on the market on Thursday.

A source with Beijing Municipal Bureau of Land and Resources told the reporter that the land price per floor area of the pilot plot was set at 5,850 yuan ($907.7) per sq m. The total price for the plot was more than 2.2 billion yuan. He said no matter who wins the bidding the land transfer fee will be the same. The highest housing price for this plot was set at 13,600 yuan per sq m. Each bid should be 50 yuan lower, he added.

The pilot plot is about 19 hectare with a total developable size of 380,000 square meters. Among which, housing will account for about 280,000 sq m. The plot, located in Mentougou, a district in the western part of the capital, could provide more than 3,000 homes.