Beijing property prices rising sharply beyond reach of some buyers

"Frustration" is the word used by Amy Zhou to summarise her home-buying search in Beijing.

The 33-year-old bank employee and her husband began looking for their first flat in 2008, and five years later they have finally found something close to what they have been looking for at a price they could afford.

After their first child was born last year the young couple redoubled their efforts to find a home of their own (they are now living with her parents in an old residential block in Beijing's Chaoyang district ). But until recently, after viewing more than a dozen flats they had still not found a place to buy, even though they now had more money to spend.

"We did not expect to find that the property market was so hot," said Zhou.

"We found two flats that we were both happy with and asked the property agency to contact the owner for a talk. But the same afternoon the agency told us somebody else had already paid a deposit."

So when they saw a third flat that suited their needs, though not ideal, the couple moved fast and paid the deposit immediately. Now, after five years of searching, they have finally found a home of their own - a 100 square metre twin-bedroomed home outside the North Fifth Ring Road, for which they paid 2.83 million yuan (HK$3.5 million).