Luxury home prices in Beijing rise in Q2

Luxury property prices in Beijing rose in the second quarter, despite government curbs, according to a report by global real estate services provider Savills.

Average prices for grade A condos in the capital rose 4.1 percent over the first quarter to reach 55,310 yuan ($9,010) per square meter, the report said.

High-end villas saw their average price grow by 14.9 percent over the first quarter to hit 48,154 yuan per sq m.

Joan Wang, director of Savills Beijing Research, said as the government restricted the issuing of pre-sale permits for developers, the supply of new luxury homes in the second half of this year will remain tight and this will lead to rising prices.

As the last round of tough curbs by the Beijing government failed to subdue property prices, developers' confidence in Beijing and other first-tier cities was strengthened. As a result, they steered away from the once popular third and fourth-tier cities.

A land plot in Beijing on Tuesday was sold for 2.36 billion yuan ($385 million) to COFCO Property (Group) Co. That implies about 46,000 yuan a square meter, a record high for Beijing.