(Yicai Global) Sept. 12 -- Changsha, the capital of China's central Hunan province, recently introduced 10,000 units of price-capped housing and will likely put 2,702 of them on the market this year.

Among those unveiled, some are USD758 (CNY4,950) per square meter, significantly lower than the average price of property in the city.

In the first half, the average price of new residential real estate transactions in Changsha's five districts was CNY9,426 per square meter, up 42.3 percent annually, data from Centaline Property Agency Ltd.'s Hunan research center show.

Among the price-capped commercial housing that Changsha plans to offer, the first batch will have 20 projects with 11,682 apartments. The city is still planning the second batch. A first-batch project in Furong district will have 1,208 units, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Changsha housing authority.

The price-capped units that Changsha is developing are mainly apartments less than 90 square meters in size with a maximum single unit construction area of less than 120 square meters. The relevant government departments set their prices, making them cheaper than other commercial housing in the same area. The price-capped apartments are for middle- and low-income families. Their ownership certificates will be marked "price-capped commercial housing," and they cannot be transferred within five years of registration.

Housing prices in Changsha, which used to be lower than those of other Chinese cities, have continued to rise since the second half of last year. The Changsha government strengthened property market control measures and focused on rigid housing demand. The city's price-capped apartments aim to meet demand after authorities rolled out pilot measures on housing and land prices last month.