Beijing home prices rise, regulation to remain: expert

BEIJING - Recent rises in prices of new Beijing apartments will not increase pressure for the government to amend regulation of the sector, the head of the Beijing Real Estate Association said on Thursday.

Beijing has seen a rebound in the average price of new real estate in recent months, although developers introduced a policy of "cutting prices to add trading volume" in the first half of 2012, said Chen Zhi, secretary-general of the association.

In November, 8,300 units of newly built Beijing apartments sold at an average price of 21,800 yuan ($3,483) per square meter, according to a report released by the association on Wednesday.

The average was 1,000 yuan, or about 5.2 percent, higher than the previous month.

The report also attributed the price rise to the reduced discount rate and upgraded quality of some projects.

Statistics show that rigid demand from families was still the major driver of home purchases in November. This investment demand has been effectively controlled, said Chen.

Beijing is one of the pioneer cities in China to have imposed a raft of measures aiming to rein in housing prices since April 2010.

The government has since repeatedly reiterated its firm stance on property market control and vowed to keep in place measures such as higher down payments, bans on third-home purchases and property tax trials.