New home sales rose last year in Beijing

A total of 123,036 units of newly built houses were sold in Beijing last year, up 64.4 percent year-on-year, said Beijing's housing authority.

The units were sold at an average price of 20,541 yuan ($3,299) per square meter, up 10 percent year-on-year.

The turnover volume rose starting from the middle of the year, and reached the highest point in December.

The land market also warmed up at the end of last year. In December alone, four parcels of land were sold in Beijing, three of which at premiums over 100 percent.

A large parcel of land in Tongzhou, a Beijing suburb, was sold last week for 1 billion yuan, 491 percent more than the starting price — the highest premium paid at an auction in the capital in two years.