Morgan plaza tops Beijing property market

BEJING'S Seven Star Morgan Plaza has surpassed the Yintai Centre to become the city's most expensive property with an average price of 53,064 yuan (US$7,064) per square meter, Beijing media reported today.

The plaza that opened along the city's northern fourth ring road in the third quarter of this year beat out the center, which is located along the eastern third ring road in Chaoyang District, said the report, citing figures released yesterday on the Website of the city's property transaction center.

The Yintai Centre ranked No. 1 in the previous two quarters.

The third quarter also the first time the unit price of a home in Beijing broke the 50,000 yuan per square meter mark, said the report.

The plaza holds a total of 192 apartments, and no more than 90 of them will be put up for public sales as the rest are all reserved, Guo Wengui, board chairman with the property's developer, told reporters last night.

"We have to examine qualifications of the applicants, including their basic information and credit because the number of applicants has greatly surpassed the number of apartments available," Guo said.

Only 10 percent of the applicants will be accepted as our "future clients," he added.

"And I believe the unit price will hit 100,000 yuan (a square meter)," Guo said.

Insiders said Bill Gate has rented a large Siheyuan, or county yard houses, on the top floor of the plaza.

The apartment will be re-arranged as an open house that will provide a bird's-eye view of Olympic venues nearby.

By the end of the third quarter, the plaza had sold three apartments with an average size of 600 square meters.

The Yintai Centre sold eight apartments last quarter, said the report.