"New properties purchased in the restricted areas by non-local residents can only be sold two years after the housing sales contract is signed," the statement said, citing a set of new rules introduced by the local government to ensure the "stable and healthy" growth of the city’s property market.
The new rules also set the minimum down payment for new properties to 50 percent of the total price, up from the national average of 25 percent.
Investors flooded Dandong trying to cash in on prospects of booming business with North Korea as tensions started to ease on the Korean Peninsula, highlighted by the historic inter-Korean summit last month and the highly anticipated meeting between the US and North Korean leaders in June. Average housing prices in Dandong jumped to almost 5,000 yuan (about $789) per square meter in May, almost doubling from 3,000 yuan per square meter in March, according to Chinese media reports.
