Effect of the housing purchase restriction policy on the Real Estate Market: Evidence from a typical suburb of Beijing, China

To curb excessive rises in housing prices, the government has instituted a series of macro-control measures in the real estate market. The housing purchase restriction (HPR) policy, one of the most severe policies, aims to curb a rapid rise in housing prices by excluding investment demand for housing. The real estate market of Langfang City was a particularly pertinent case because it is adjacent to Beijing, the capital of China. This study collected 11,597 sets of second-hand housing transaction data from five counties around Beijing in Langfang. A regression discontinuity design was then used to indicate that the HPR policy of Langfang did not significantly reduce the price of second-hand houses in the study area. In addition, the effect of the HPR policy on housing prices had an obvious spatial heterogeneity. Within 500 m of the buffer zone around Beijing, the implementation of the HPR policy significantly increased the price by 8.07 %. Within 1000 m of the buffer zone, the implementation of the policy increased the price by an average of 6.70 %. Although the HPR policy played a role in reducing the price further than 1000 m, it was not robust. Finally, the paper highlighted that the policy makers should pay attention to the heterogeneity and connection of different cities, balance the relationship between multiple stakeholders, and improve and implement relevant systems, including a real estate tax regime and land spatial planning regime.