Beijing's real estate market will continue to remain stable and healthy even after the city stages next year's Olympic Games, a senior local government official said yesterday.

"The unique characteristic of Beijing's real estate market lies in the huge housing demand from outside the city, which accounts for 35 percent of total market demand," said Lu Yingchuan, deputy director of the Beijing municipal commission of development and reform yesterday.

Nearly 300,000 to 400,000 people come to work in Beijing from other provinces each year. Others, such as foreigners, those looking for better housing, and speculators are all investing in the sector.

"The rise in housing prices here is a result of market forces, coupled with increasing consumer demand," Lu said.

Statistics released yesterday by the National Development and Reform Commission showed that housing prices continued to rise in the first quarter this year. Shenzhen (12.6 percent), Beihai (10.1 percent), Beijing (9 percent) and Guangzhou(8 percent) were the leading cities.

According to data based on 70 major cities, housing prices were on average 5.6 percent more than the previous three months, and 0.3 percent higher in growth rate.

In Beijing the cost of new and second-hand housing surged by 9.8 and 9.5 percent on average.

Although Lu admitted that the price increases included factors such as "substandard market orders", speculation covered an average of 17 percent, which is "within a reasonable range".

He said Beijing's housing market "is normal", especially the development of the commercial real estate sector.

"People's income will continue to rise in the long-term, and they will be looking forward to better housing," he said.

He said capital flow into the Chinese real estate market is still growing and more investors will continue to look for quality assets to acquire.

Lu was speaking during a press briefing on the economic and social development of Beijing since it was appointed to host the Olympics in July 2001.

In the last four years the average economic growth rate of Beijing has been 12.1 percent, 1.7 percent higher than the average of the past 20 years. Direct foreign funds totalled $15.1 billion, up 49.4 percent for the four years.

The Olympics sector has especially contributed to upgrading the capital's industrial structure.

Industrial areas that have benefited include construction, communication, transportation and tourism.

Statistics show that the number of inbound tourists increased from 2.86 million in 2001 to 3.9 million last year.

Plans to boost the transportation, public security and medical care sectors have greatly improved the city's operating and service efficiency.

In the first quarter this year, the city's gross domestic product and finance income jumped by 11.9 and 22.9 percent compared to the same period last year.

(China Daily 05/17/2007 page4)