Chinanews, Beijing, Apr. 17 – Foreigners and non-native Beijingers are still the main buyers of the luxury apartments in Beijing, the Beijing Morning Post reported.

 

Years ago, 30% of house buyers in Beijing were foreigners or non-locals. By March last year, their proportion had risen to 61.5%. Although Chinese government later issued a regulation trying to curb foreigners' speculative activities in domestic property market, the two groups of people still have accounted for 50% of the high-end housing market in Beijing.

 

Since land costs more in the downtown areas now, many developers are keen on building luxury apartments. With the 2008 Olympic Games coming closer, more and more housing projects are put up for sale now, as property developers want to seek more gains this year and next, some analysts say.

 

There is a large supply of luxury apartments in Beijing's downtown areas this year. It is expected that about 2 million square meters of luxury apartments will go for sale this year at an average price of 16,000 yuan per square meter. As housing price keeps rising and transactions become active, more housing developers are willing to sell their projects now, analysts say.

 

Native Beijingers who buy these luxury houses are either staff members working in the financial street or senior managers working in the central business district (CBD). Last February, the Yuan Xi Tang housing project in the west part of the downtown area in Beijing went for sale. Among the ten apartments sold, half of the buyers work in the financial street next to the housing project. Some of these buyers buy houses for living, but many others purchase luxury houses only as a means to preserve their assets.