Beijing smog fails to dampen ongoing appetite for luxury villas as record 8,050 sold in 2016
Average price of villas increased 10pc to 37,783 yuan per square meter, while total sales hit 91.2 billion yuan, more than twice the number in 2015
Beijing’s ongoing serious air problems have failed to dampen its residents ongoing appetite for buying luxury houses in the city, as latest research shows a record 8,050 villas were sold in the capital city last year – a 119 per cent year on year jump.
That amounted to 2.41 million square metres of space sold, also a new high, and a 116 per cent increase from a year earlier, according to new data released by Beijing-based Yahao Real Estate Selling & Consulting Solution Agency.
The average price of villas increased 10 per cent to 37,783 yuan per square meter, while total sales hit 91.2 billion yuan, more than twice the number in 2015.
Although Beijing issued its highest level of air health alert last month, after weeks of choking winter pollution and toxic smog, analysts say the demand for luxury housing is still picking up.
The worries over air problem have helped villa sales because Beijing people are now looking for properties either away from the densest urban areas or those they have good indoor air cleaning systems
In December alone, 871 villas were sold there, a 23 per cent increase from the month before.
“The worries over air problem have helped villa sales because Beijing people are now looking for properties either away from the densest urban areas or those they have good indoor air cleaning systems,” said Zhang Dawei, chief analyst at real estate agency Centaline Property.