In May, Peng Guangsheng stood in a long queue at the Gu’an county government office in Hebei province, near Beijing’s city limits. As a waidi ren or “outsider” from Suzhou in eastern China, Mr Peng needed special approval to buy a property in Gu’an and was restricted to one purchase.
It was worth the wait. Mr Peng sold his property a few months later for a quick profit after prices at local developments such as Peacock City, United Kingdom Palace and Provence Garden doubled to Rmb24,000 ($3,600) per square metre in just six months. He believes he got out just in time.
“Gu’an prices have gone up too much,” Mr Peng said this week. He is reluctant to buy there again and is similarly downbeat about prospects in Beijing, where he has also invested. “Housing prices have peaked and are due for a downturn. I will not buy again in Beijing until prices come down.”