People walk past a billboard showing a slogan about Tongzhou district being the sub-administrative center of Beijing in June. Photo: IC

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli on Friday urged authorities to prevent housing speculation in Beijing's surrounding areas while pushing forward a plan to integrate the capital city with its neighboring regions, with house prices in Beijing's suburbs having been boosted by the plan in recent months. 

Officials must ward off blind real estate development and property speculation in areas surrounding Beijing, Zhang said at a meeting to promote coordinated development between Beijing, Tianjin and North China's Hebei Province.

One key priority of the plan is moving some of Beijing's non-capital functions to neighboring areas, including the manufacturing industry, logistical bases and wholesale markets, as well as some governmental, education and medical institutions. 

Authorities hope the move will help address some of Beijing's urban problems, such as traffic congestion and air pollution.

The local government of Beijing announced earlier this month that it will develop Tongzhou district into a sub-administrative center.

Media reports about the issue have been circulating since May, boosting housing prices in the eastern suburb.

Sales of new homes in Tongzhou district amounted to 4,912 units between April 1 and July 20, up 131.5 percent year-on-year, according to data from Beijing-based real estate consultancy Yahao.

"Homebuyers are optimistic about the district's development potential, as being a sub-administrative center will help to improve living facilities there," Guo Yi, marketing director at Yahao, told the Global Times Sunday.

As well as raising sales, the development plan has also boosted prices. The average home price in Tongzhou jumped 30 percent year-on-year to 28,000 yuan ($4,508) per square meter in the first six months of this year, media reports said.

Chen Zhi, secretary-general of the Beijing Real Estate Association, said the recent rise in housing prices in areas such as Tongzhou district and Yanjiao, a town in Hebei Province that is close to eastern Beijing, was not based on a genuine rise in demand.

"Some property developers have taken advantage of this chance to raise housing prices," he told the Global Times on Sunday.

Chen said there will not be a surge in housing demand in Tongzhou district, even if the Beijing municipal government is relocated there, because prospective homebuyers will also consider other factors such as transportation, education and medical care.

"The improvement of these facilities will take time," he said.

Huang Yan, head of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning, also said property development is not a key aspect of building Tongzhou district into a sub-administrative center, according to a report published on the central government's website on July 15.

The commission aims to increase transport facilities to shorten the commute period between Tongzhou district and central Beijing to half an hour.

Currently, it takes around one hour and a half when taking the subway from the district to the centre of the city.

During Friday's meeting, Zhang also urged local authorities to roll out a road map for implementation of the plan, and strengthen regulations on land supply.

Major projects should be focused on achieving breakthroughs in three priority areas - transport integration, environmental protection and industrial upgrading - he said.