Real estate continues its climb(4)

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When he heard about the new regulations in early March, Qiu Hu, a 26-year-old salesman originally from Heilongjiang province, abandoned his dream of owning property in Beijing, the city he has worked in for five years.

"In my opinion, the new regulations are generally making it harder to buy property, because buyers will eventually pay most of the extra taxes," he said. "The measures might curb prices over the long term, but I can't wait because I got married this year."

According to Chinese tradition, the husband is responsible for providing a home for the family. A week before Beijing launched the new regulations at the end of March, Qiu bought a two-bedroom apartment in Yanjiao, Hebei province.

"It is right on the border of Beijing and Hebei," he said. "It is like the Beijing suburbs, only further out."

Although the area borders the capital, different polices are in place; unlike Beijing, purchasing a property doesn't require a local hukou. For most beipiao, or Beijing drifters - people such as Qiu, who work in the capital but don't have hukou or own property - have turned to "border" areas such as Yanjiao.

There are fewer restrictions in Yanjiao and property prices are lower, but the costs mount up in other ways. It takes 60 minutes for Qiu to drive to work, even in the best traffic conditions. "And also I feel lost," he said. "Once you cross the border, it's not Beijing anymore, and everything is different."

Qiu said the infrastructure and educational resources also lag behind those in the capital. "Even the heating is switched off a few days earlier than in Beijing," he said. Text messages sent by the local telecom carriers continually remind him he is not in the capital. "Every time I get home, a message pops up saying 'Welcome to Hebei!' Many young people dream of living in a big city and becoming successful, but this is the moment the dream gets busted."

He had planned to sell his apartment in Yanjiao a few years after purchase and use the proceeds to buy an apartment in the city, but as the new regulations have imposed stricter rules on the sale of second-hand houses, Qiu said his back-up plan doesn't seem practical anymore.

"I am going to wait," he said. "Maybe they will change the policy again. Who knows?"