Baidu and Soho are currently considering a major tie-up that will make real estate selling possible via the Internet. (Photo : Reuters)
New housing projects located in first-tier cities sold like hotcakes during the Labor Day holiday. This is a sign of how effective the government's stimulus projects are in stimulating the market.
According to China Daily, 201 new homes in Beijing were sold and registered over the two days. Last year, only 169 got sold and registered.
In Shenzhen, the jump is more apparent; from 49 units sold last year, the city sold 195 units this year.
Centaline Property Agency reports that in Guangzhou, 20 new projects were launched for sale on the same holiday period, signaling a 10-percent rise compared to last year. A total of 354 units were sold.
China Index Academy put forward statistics showing the boom in the housing market. First-tier cities, in particular, showed a 31-percent surge in sales. Second-tier and third-tier cities also posted growth in their housing markets amounting to 5 and 7 percent, respectively.
The market was so hot that new projects put out in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen sold out within a day of them going on sale. Apart from new homes, 17,191 second-hand homes were also sold and registered in Beijing in April.
E-House China R&D Institute said that the trend is likely to continue and even accelerate, especially since the interest rates are expected to become even lower soon.
Some Chinese citizens, however, hold doubts that the housing market is going to be robust again and that home prices in the long run would remain attractive.
