The present sales absorption rate for apartments located within the third ring road is 95%, the absorption rate for apartments between the third and fourth ring roads is approximately 80% and the rate for apartments in satellite residential areas that ring Beijing's urban fringe is approximately 60% (this figure varies considerably among individual satellite areas), according to CB Richard Ellis. Absorption patterns in the 2002-08 period are expected to be fairly similar, though the growth rate in satellite residential areas--particularly areas northeast, north, and northwest of the central city--is expected to rise as the city completes transportation improvements such as the light rail system.
