NewTop mainland cities bend rules on home pre-sale price limits
But analysts say the move does not signal a relaxation of government's property-market curbs
Major cities on the mainland have lifted a price limit for pre-sale home licences, in a move that will unblock high-end projects but will also add fire to the already red-hot land market.
In November, Shanghai imposed a limit on the price of new homes which can be approved for pre-sale – 20,000 yuan (HK$25,400) per square metre in Baoshan district, for example. The city also stepped up measures to curb housing inflation – which exceeded 20 per cent, far beyond its original price control target – such as stricter home-purchase restrictions.
That same month, in a closed-door meeting with developers, Beijing placed a 40,000 yuan per square metre price cap on pre-sale permits. Shenzhen and Guangzhou took similar steps.
However, after the New Year, both Beijing and Shanghai approved expensive residential property projects, many exceeding the price limits, which signalled an apparent easing of restrictions.
Beijing gave the year’s first pre-sale licence to a project called Thaihot Cathay Courtyard in Chaoyang district, with the highest price set at 100,537 yuan per square metre for a 352.54 square-metre house. The developer declined to comment on whether it made a compromise deal with the government to get approval.
Meanwhile, a villa project was approved for sale on January 6 in Shanghai’s Baoshan district, at an average price of 5 million yuan per unit, or about 30,000 yuan per square metre, the developer, Shenzhen-listed Yango Group, told South China Morning Post.