Beijing home prices drop slightly in 2012

Beijing home prices are usually a crucial gauge for the property market in China. Fresh data released by the Beijing Real Estate Association shows that in 2012, Beijing's property prices dropped slightly. Still, home prices located within the fourth ring road saw a major increase.

Looking at the big picture over the past year, the average newly built commodity housing price in Beijing was 20,700 yuan per square meter, about 3,300 U.S. dollars, dropping 7.6 percent from the previous year.

But at the same time, the average price within the forth ring road jumped 5.6 percent. And the price of pre-owned homes also increased 5.1 percent. So, how does this come?

Wang Yong, regional manager of Centaline Group, said, "As demand increased in the second half of 2012, house owners offered more rentals. For example, this apartment charged 6.5 million yuan in May, and jumped by 30 thousand in October, and now, it offers 7.2 million yuan."

At the same time, houses and apartments located on the outskirts of the capital mushroomed in 2012, and drove down new home prices.

Chen Zhi, Secretary General of Beijing Real Estate Association, said, "In terms of location, Beijing's property market saw a 80-20 split. That is, about 87 percent of sales volumes are beyond the Fifth ring road, costing 17 thousand yuan per square meter on average. And in terms of floor space, the small and medium sized type took more than 80 percent."

Chen added, the flat property prices in Beijing shows the effect of the government's firm stance on the property market, given the fact that 90 percent of all houses sold are bought by first-time home buyers.