(ECNS) -- Real estate agencies are closing more outlets in Beijing as the capital tightens property controls to cool prices.
A manager of Homelink Real Estate Brokerage branch confirmed with Beijing Youth Daily that 87 of their stores were closed in order to optimize the distribution of resources.
The performance of many Homelink outlets in April was poor, with a monthly decrease of 77 percent amid new policies to control home prices.
A broker working with Homelink also told Beijing Youth Daily that the number of customers visiting his shop had decreased by about 30 percent. Some employees had little work to do. The decrease in trade had begun to show its influence on home prices, the report said.
Homelink was not the only company making moves to close shops around Beijing. Other real estate brokers, including Fang.com and 5i5j.com, big players in the industry, have closed some shops, it was added.
The second-hand housing market cooled last month, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-rural Development. Data showed 16,902 second-hand housing sales contracts were signed in April, a decrease of 35 percent compared with the previous month, and a 36 percent decrease year-on-year.
Zhang Dawei, chief analyst with Centaline Property, said integrated policies on controlling housing prices had begun to take effect and had caused some brokers to close stores. He said more shops could close if the effects of such policies persisted over the next six to nine months.
