Property prices plummet in Wenzhou

The average price of residential apartments in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, slumped 24 percent in 2012, according to the latest figures from the local bureau of price.

In addition, the value of certain kinds of villas decreased nearly by half compared to 2010.

Wenzhou became the city having the largest drop on the housing price among 70 small- and medium-sized cities in the country for the first two months of 2013, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.

Businessmen from the city, one of China's wealthiest, are well-known for their speculative activities in various sectors, especially the property market.

China tightened its curbs on the property sector in 2010, when housing prices rose far beyond the reach of average wage earners.

"Compared to the housing price for 2009 and 2010, when it rose to the peak of about 60,000 yuan ($9,660) per square meter in certain luxurious apartments, the average price of those is now under 30,000 yuan, a decrease of over 50 percent," said Ding Yi, a developer of luxury homes in Wenzhou.

Ding added that the cooling property market in Wenzhou had severely affected the average price of residential sectors, which had been heated up by investors in the past three years.