Beijing house prices fall 20% in December

The average residential real estate prices in Beijing dropped 20% in December 2007, according to China Real Estate Index System, a domest real estate market databank. The average house price in December was US$1,668 per square meter, 19.67% lower than the average price of US$2,077 per sqm seen in November, CCTV reported (in Chinese). Residential prices and transaction volume decreased as a series of regulatory policies aimed at cooling speculative activity in the capital’s property market, including tightened rules for residents buying second homes, went into effect. Beijing residents’ willingness to buy property went down by 7% in the fourth quarter, according to a quarterly survey conducted by the People’s Bank of China.