Shenzhen bans sale of tiny 6 sq m flats after online uproar

Shenzhen authorities have invalidated the sale of a series of tiny 6 square metre flats costing 880,000 yuan each, saying the properties violated existing laws and regulations.

The move came after an online outcry after local media reported that 11 mini studio apartments, with floor areas ranging from 5.73 and 7.48 square meters located in the 15-storey Qiaocheng Shangyu building in the city’s Nanshan district, sold out in half a day on Saturday.

The news went viral with Chinese internet users calling the apartments the smallest new homes on the mainland – the latest example of the property fever spreading across the nation.

Shenzhen has seen the fastest growth in residential property prices worldwide. Statistics released by the city’s urban planning, land and resources commission show average prices reached 61,756 yuan per square meter in June.

Shenzhen citizens now spend an average of 4.2 million yuan on buying their first apartment, an increase of 75 per cent from the average 2.4 million yuan paid in 2013, according to Centaline Property.

Due to growing concerns aired by the public, the city’s urban planning, land and resources commission began looking into the mini studio property project late Sunday and announced on Monday afternoon that the sales were cancelled after it found the transactions involved false information and the properties had illegal conversion problems.

A statement released on the commission’s official microblog said the reports that 11 of the apartments were sold was false news spread by four local property agencies. Only four apartments had been sold before the official investigation began, the statement said.