China Tests New Property Model in Xi’s Flagship City Amid Crisis

  • Xiong’an will not allow pre-sales in major policy departure
  • Property sector has been rocked by credit crunch for years

Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. 

Photographer:  Xing Guangli/Xinhua/Getty

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China is road testing a new property policy in an experimental city President Xi Jinping is building outside Beijing to try to stabilize a housing market rocked by an ongoing credit crisis.

All homes in the Xiong’an New District, which is about 130 kilometers (80.8 miles) southwest of Beijing, must be built before they can be sold, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday, citing the city’s housing administration center.