City lowering fees charged by brokers

BEIJING - When real estate agencies in this city sell a house that has already been lived in, they will be able to charge commission fees amounting to no more than 2 percent of the house's price, according to a new regulation.

Beijing's municipal commission of development and reform made an announcement on Sunday about the new regulation, which will come into effect after Wednesday. From then on, real estate brokers won't be able to charge transaction fees amounting to more than 2 percent of the price of second-hand houses that go for less than 5 million yuan ($783,500). That will be the first time that rate - which is now set at 2.5 percent - has been reduced in 14 years.

The commission also kept caps in place on three other types of fees that used to be charged at whatever rate brokers wanted. Those include fees charged for helping buyers obtain loans or officially register real estate.