AFP, Beijing :
China’s plan to develop an economic backwater outside Beijing into a city three times the size of New York has sparked a real estate speculation frenzy among out-of-town home buyers.
The Xiongan New Area-a patch of apartments and wetlands in northern Hebei province-has less than one percent of Beijing’s economic output, but was on Saturday unveiled as the future location of a special economic zone similar to those established in Shenzhen and Shanghai.
Located some 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of downtown Beijing, the zone will eventually be expanded to 2,000 square kilometres-nearly three times the size of New York City.
The move seeks to reduce traffic, air pollution, and population growth in the overcrowded capital.
Within hours of the news, investors from all over the country descended on Xiongan, causing average apartment prices to nearly double in a day.
Home prices in one area increased from around 4,000 yuan ($580) per square metre to highs of 20,000 yuan, financial magazine Caixin reported.
China’s plan to develop an economic backwater outside Beijing into a city three times the size of New York has sparked a real estate speculation frenzy among out-of-town home buyers.
The Xiongan New Area-a patch of apartments and wetlands in northern Hebei province-has less than one percent of Beijing’s economic output, but was on Saturday unveiled as the future location of a special economic zone similar to those established in Shenzhen and Shanghai.
Located some 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of downtown Beijing, the zone will eventually be expanded to 2,000 square kilometres-nearly three times the size of New York City.
The move seeks to reduce traffic, air pollution, and population growth in the overcrowded capital.
Within hours of the news, investors from all over the country descended on Xiongan, causing average apartment prices to nearly double in a day.
Home prices in one area increased from around 4,000 yuan ($580) per square metre to highs of 20,000 yuan, financial magazine Caixin reported.
