Beijing to increase land supply

Beijing's Municipal government will increase 3 million square meter land supply in December to January period. The move aims to rein in a red-hot property market and stabilize surging property prices.

The Beijing Municipal government says in addition to the 600-thousand square-meters of land available in a previous plan, another 3 million square meters will be added to the market from December to January. Commercial property built on this land is expected to enter the market in eight to nine months.

Dong Fan, Expert of Ministry of Housing & Urban-Rural Construction said "Based on the current average size for apartment complex, the 3 million square meter land supply is equivalent to 50 to 60 thousand new commercial apartments. The land supply will continue to increase next year, the property price may stabilize, or at least not rise too fast."

The increase supply of commercial property aims to stabilize property prices and alleviate the financial burden of housing for citizens. Beijing's property price has been risen rapidly since early 2009. Some industry insider blames price rally to insufficient supply of the real estate market.