Wuhan authorities call off land sale in latest effort to cool red-hot property prices
The 102,240 square meter residential and commercial site on Han Zheng Street
had been given an auction starting price of 12.6bn yuan
The authorities in Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei province, called off a prime city-centre land auction on Tuesday, fearing its price was likely to hit a record high – the latest move by officials across the country to clamp down on surging home costs.
The 102,240 square meter residential and commercial site is located on the city’s historic Han Zheng Street – famous for small commodity markets – which is currently undergoing urban renewal.
Wuhan Land Resources and Planning Bureau originally planned to auction the site on Thursday with a starting price of 12.6 billion yuan, making it possibly the most expensive ever plot sold in the city.
But the bureau suddenly dropped the listing on Wednesday, “following the country’s macro-control requirements on the real estate market”, it said in a statement.
There will be more tightening measures to come, and this cycle is likely to last another six to nine months. The property market is just too hot
The suspension comes just weeks after the city raised down payment requirements on properties and banned third-home purchases, to cool the local market.