Beijing sees second-hand housing sales surge

BEIJING -- In the week since stricter measures were rolled out to tame China's property market, 9,400 units of second-hand homes were sold in Beijing, local authorities said Saturday.

The figure marked a 140.5-percent week-on-week increase and a 279.5-percent increase from the period of Feb 2-8, according to statistics published on the website of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Amid expectations for rising home prices, China's central government issued rules to further tighten controls on the property market on March 1.

The government said in an online notice that homeowners who sell their homes will be levied an income tax as high as 20 percent on the profit they make on a transaction.

Prior to the new rules, the income tax levied was 1 percent to 2 percent of the sale price.

Echoing the new property control rules, Beijing has seen an 87-percent increase in the amount of second-hand homes on the housing market,according to statistics released by 5i5j Real Estate, a leading real estate agency in Beijing.

Moreover, inquiries and registrations from people considering purchasing homes also rose last week.

First-time home buyers and those looking to improve their living conditions are the two major groups in the second-hand housing market, said Hu Jinghui, vice president of 5i5j Real Estate.

Hu forecast that the currently hot second-hand housing market will soon cool and the sales volume will plummet.