Residential property prices fell in Beijing for the second straight month this year, led by declines in outlying suburbs like Tongzhou and Yizhuang, after a succession of price-curbing measures taken by the government. The average transaction price of pre-owned residences declined 2.4% in May from a month earlier, following a 6.8% drop in April, according to 5i5j, the second-largest real estate agency in the city. Transaction volume and prices fell month-on-month in 10 of the 14 districts. Property transactions have cooled dramatically since March 17, when the Beijing municipal government enacted a rule that required second-property buyers to put down 80% of the property’s value as deposit to secure a purchase, the highest proportion in the country. Home owners with existing mortgage loans, even if they have already paid off their loans, are still defined as prior-home owners and thus are subject to the higher down payment. The majority of transactions in Beijing are by people selling their existing homes for a new one, so the tough definition of ‘first-time buyers’ is a big hit to demand. “If one customer can’t sell his home, he can’t buy the next, whose owner may also be trading up, so the whole curb causes a chain reaction,” said 5i5j’s Vice President Hu Jinghui. Sales dropped 39% in May, after declining 35% in April, 5i5j said.