小城市房价飙升

Rocketing property prices in China's biggest cities have been a cause of great concern among the public for quite some time. Many are reportedly leaving the urban sprawls of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou because of the ever-increasing living costs. But, as Li Kefu finds out, the latest data show some smaller cities in China are also experiencing an uNPRecedented wave of increasing property prices.

Yantai is considered a 3rd tier city in China. Located on the coastline of Shandong province, it's well known for its good living conditions.

Recently, a real estate exhibition drew much attention from the residents here. What surprised many was the number of participating real estate companies - more than 100 - topping even the Beijing real estate conference.

Li Xujing, Real Estate Broker, said, "Yantai is a very nice city to live in. It has a lot of potential. Also because of the State macro-economic control measures, people are starting to buy places here."

Yantai is just one example of the booming real estate market in 2nd and 3rd tier cities across the country. Under the impact of buying restrictions in the country's first tier cities that took place this February, many real estate developers have turned their attention to cities like Yantai.

Statistics show that 2nd and 3rd tier cities, particularly tourism hubs, saw considerable increases in property prices in June. With places like Kunshan in Jiangsu province, Zhongshan and Zhuhai in Guangdong province seeing soaring price tags.

Chen Guoqiang, China Real Estate Society, said, "Demand for the areas with buying restrictions is shifting to places that are not yet affected like Yantai, which has caused an increase in volume and price."

Increases are the inevitable consequence. And for many living in 2nd and 3rd tier cities, especially lower income groups, rising property prices, as well as inflation, are especially bad news for the ever tightening purse strings.