2010-07-01 10:40

The average price of secondhand properties in Beijing reached a record high in the first half of this year, but it is expected to drop around 10 percent during the next six months.

In a report issued by Beijing Homelink Real Estate Brokerage Co, a leading property agency in the capital, in the first half of 2010, the average price of secondhand property was 19,183 yuan ($2,828.4) per sq m, a jump of 62.8 percent over the same period last year.

However, it was a rollercoaster experience for Beijing's secondhand property market from January to June. In March, the average price soared by 2,004 yuan per sq m over the previous month, making it largest rise in history, while in May, the price plummeted by 1,549 yuan per sq m, the biggest fall in history.

The trading volume was down, however. There were only 98,000 secondhand units sold in the first six months, dropping from 101,164 units in the same period last year.

Fifty-eight percent of purchasers chose a one-off payment to buy apartments after the municipal government issued rules to rein in housing market in April, a 19 percent rise over the pre-policy number.

The report expected property prices would continue to fall in the second half of the year, decreasing by 9 percent to 13 percent over the first six months, the average price dropping to around 17,500 yuan per sq m.