Beijing's real estate market maintained high prices in May despite an increasing supply, according to the China Securities Journal.

In May, a total of 52 real estate projects opened for sale in Beijing. Among these projects, there are 13 entirely new projects and the rest are the following stages of existing projects. The newly added real estate area reached 1.2036 million square meters, up 9.4 percent compared with April, according to statistics from the real estate agency Golden Keys. Real estate projects with an average price of more than 10,000 yuan per square meter accounted for 45.8 percent of the new projects.

Prices of the newly opened projects in May were no less than 10,000 yuan per square meter in the eight downtown districts. In Shijingshan District, the average price hit 10,500 yuan per square meter. The average price reached 8,150 yuan per square meter in the suburban Changping District.

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A total of 35 newly opened projects in May were located outside the fifth-ring road, up 84.2 percent from April, with a newly added supply area of 727,000 square meters, an increase of 40.5 percent compared with April. The newly added supply area within the fourth-ring road was only 134,500 square meters in May, accounting for 11.2 percent of the total.

Second-hand housing prices witnessed slower growth. The average transaction price for second-hand housing reached 8,749 yuan per square meter in May in Beijing, a slight increase of 0.85 percent compared with April, according to real estate agencies. Supply of the second-hand housing maintained a growth trend in May in Beijing. The average supply price was 8,936 yuan per square meter, up 101 yuan per square meter from April.

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