Weekend warnings that Beijing would 'unswervingly' fight property speculation have cast a cloud over the proposed auction of a prime residential site there tomorrow.
The official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday that Premier Wen Jiabao had noted that the mainland property market was still at a crucial stage, adding: 'We must unswervingly continue the work and make the fight against speculative property investment demand a long-term policy.'
The warning came just days before the auction of a 38,870 square metre residential site in Beijing's Haidian district, which had already been delayed.
The site was released for tender in June, with a deadline of July 4, but last week it was extended until tomorrow.
Since the site is in a prime location and can be developed into a high-end residential project, it was expected to sell for up to 30,000 yuan (HK$36,780) per square metre, which would have been a new high for the city in terms of gross floor area.
The city's municipal government announced last Wednesday that the deadline for the tender would be extended until tomorrow, and some analysts believed the delay showed the local government was concerned that a potential record-breaking deal would send a signal that it was adopting a stimulatory housing policy in defiance of the central government policy against property speculation.