An auction of land in Beijing was cancelled after bidding exceeded a price ceiling set for the lot as the Chinese government expands efforts to rein in the nation’s property market.

The highest price bid for the Beijing lot, zoned for residential development, at the April 26 auction was 4,718 yuan ($691) per sq m, exceeding the 4,700 yuan per sq m limit set by the government, the Ministry of Land and Resources said today. The ministry’s Beijing branch said it began setting limits on the price of land this month on a trial basis.

“Imagine a seller refuses your business because he thinks you are paying too much for his products?” Bank of America- Merrill Lynch analysts led by David Cui wrote in a report distributed today. “It demonstrates the type of pressure the central government is putting on local officials to get the property market right this time; this increases the risk of potential overshooting in the property market crackdown.”

bloomberg.com