THE city’s urban planning, land and resources commission have summoned a real estate developer over the pricing of a new apartment at a whopping 376,000 yuan (US$60,645) per square meter, Guangzhou Daily reported yesterday.

    That price would be higher than the record 200,000 yuan per square meter for an apartment sold in Shekou last month. The average price of apartments in the Shekou building was about 100,000 yuan per square meter.

    The commission said it is looking into the exceptionally high price and will punish any developers who are suspected of manipulating home prices.

    The apartment is on the 39th floor of a commercial apartment building, which was developed by Shenzhen Zhongzhou Baocheng Real Estate Co., in Bao’an District. The building is the third phase of a large property project by the developer. The other apartments in the building are priced at an average of 60,000 yuan per square meter, according to the website of the commission, with which all developers are required to register for sale approval of their housing projects.

    Latest data revealed by the urban planning, land and resources commission showed that the total trading volume in May set a new record, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

    A total of 6,106 new homes were sold in May at an average price of 28,487 yuan per square meter. The monthly turnover has jumped by 50 percent compared to April, close to a historical peak set in 2009.

    Among all districts, Nanshan District saw the most rapid growth in the prices of new homes in May. Statistics indicate that the average price of new homes in Nanshan District reached 61,398 yuan per square meter, followed by Futian District with an average price of 46,398 yuan per square meter.

    The pre-owned home market is also booming. According to Centaline Group’s research center, 13,378 pre-owned apartments were sold in May and it also set a new record since March 2013.

    Longhua New Area and Nanshan District are the two hottest areas for both new and pre-owned apartments.

    Wang Feng, deputy director of the research center, said the encouraging policies have partly contributed to the current situation, but the reason is bigger. He thinks that Shenzhen has attracted more people to live here with its economic growth.

    A manager from the same center, Wang Fei, said an active real estate market helps stabilize the country’s economy. He said home prices won’t go down in the short term. (Zhang Qian)