The average price of commercial houses in Beijing stood at 5,575 yuan (US$675.7) per square meter in the first five months of this year, representing a year-on-year increase of 8.13 percent, Beijing Youth Daily said on Saturday.

However, the increase rate was a bit lower compared with the rise of 16.5 percent in the first four months of this year, and 11.15 percent in the first quarter, the paper said, quoting an analysis report of the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Committee.

The report cited the increasing demand for housing and the rising cost of raw materials and labor as the main reasons for the price rise of commercial houses in the capital city.

Meanwhile, the report said, the state policy to readjust and control the real estate industry over the past few months has played a role in restraining housing sales, with many Beijing consumers having adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

The report believed that there is comparatively less housing speculation in Beijing than in Shanghai.

The committee predicted that the city's housing prices are likely to rise steadily in the later half of this year, with the stabilization of the state macro-control policy.

The demand for houses, especially that for commercial houses, is still strong, it said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 17, 2005)