Prices of commercial houses in Beijing made their first dip in June, reversing a consecutive five month surge.

The housing prices of unfinished commercial houses in the city averaged 6,899 yuan (US$851.7) per square meter in June, falling 237 yuan per square meter or 3.3 percent from the previous month, according to the real estate market information jointly released by four housing and construction regulatory authorities in the city on Thursday.

The price hike of commercial houses slowed down starting in May. The rising margin stood at 4.9 percent in May, down 2.1 percentage points from the previous month.

But industry specialists analyzed that it is unlikely that the price would continue to fall, as both the demand and supply of the housing market are active. The price in July is forecast to break even with that in June.

According to the official statistics, there were 34,012 units of flats that changed hands in the first six months. Transactions of second-hand houses amounted for 60.3 percent of the total. The average price of second-hand houses stood at 4,513 yuan per square meter in June, up 9.26 percent year-on-year, while the price of welfare housing averaged at 4,018 yuan per square meter.

(People’s Daily August 8, 2005)