CRI听力:Beijing's Home Sales Rise in 2015

Figures from the municipal housing department show more than 100,000 units of new residential homes were sold last year, rising by over 36 percent from 2014.

The same data also shows the average housing price last year stood at around 27,000 yuan per square meter, up almost 10 percent compared with 2014.

Ren Qixin, with Yahao Real Estate Selling and Consulting Agency, says stimulus policies, such as the loan interest rate reduction, boosted the city's home sales in the second half of last year.

"The realtors' purpose in the first half of the year was destocking and to push up sales. As it entered the latter half, with increasing land prices, housing prices rose as realtors worked to ensure their profits. So the result of the real estate market showed the surge of both sales volumes and housing prices at the same time."

In the resale home market, close to 200,000 units were sold, up 83 percent year on year, while the average price exceeded 38,000 yuan per square meter, an increase of 5.5 percent year on year.

Real estate agent Hu Jinhui says the figures indicate a mild growth in the sector.

"The demand for housing improvement dominated the market. Some home owners were both buyers and sellers in the market. Relatively speaking, their price judgments are quite mild. And the supply of resale homes on the market this year (2015) was sufficient."

Hu also predicted the city's housing market in 2016 would be generally stable.

"The trading volume, especially the demand for house improvement was fully released in 2015. On the other hand, the marginal effects of stimulus policies are on the wane. So the total trading volume in 2016 will be equal or even slightly lower than that in 2015. And the price will see a moderate hike."

China's housing market experienced a downturn in 2014 due to weak demand and a supply glut.

It continued into 2015 in most parts of the country, with both sales and prices falling, and investment slowing.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows the unsold home inventory hit a record 686.3 million square meters by the end of October.

China's top leaders including President Xi Jinping have listed destocking the property market as one of the government's main tasks.

But it's widely believed in the industry that home prices in first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai will probably remain stable due to the limited land supply.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.