近来，北京地价不断攀升。这表明，虽然在过去很长的一段时间里，中国政府试图为楼市降温，但也难挡其再度回升的趋势。
本周，北京城郊——通州的一块地产最终成交价竟高达10亿元人民币（约合1.6亿美元），高出起拍价491%，其溢价金额也创下近两年北京土地拍卖之最。
去年年末，中国土地市场开始回暖。这对地方政府来说无疑是个好消息，因为地方财政收入在很大程度上依赖于土地售卖。但是不断攀升的楼价却招来了一片批评之声。批评者认为，官员借限制土地供应谋取暴利的方式，会为房地产泡沫埋下隐患。
与往常不同，这次为首的批评人士不是别人，正是高价买下通州地产的开发商——任志强。他是一位坦率的地产大亨，在成功竞下那块土地之后，他便在微博上批评政府限地的做法。
华远地产董事长任志强在其官方微博（类似推特）上发表了一连串的批评，其中一句是：“我很清楚在一块土地上投资如此多是有很大风险的。”
他说，“高价购地显然不是我的公司或社会乐见的情况。但是为了生存，我别无选择，只能在政府垄断和限制土地的夹缝中寻找机会。”
之后，他补充道，“政府害怕出现天价地，因此减少了竞拍土地的次数；但是随之而来的土地短缺却反而是天价地的出现成为了必然。政府真的认为减少土地供应就能遏制房价上扬吗？”
本次竞拍的通州部分地块中，可用的建筑面积为122798平方米。据计算，每平方米均价8184元人民币，是北京人均工资收入的一倍。通州与北京市中心相隔2万米，曾因低廉的土地价格吸引了大批的年轻夫妇来此购房，但是现在当地的房价却急速攀升，让人望而却步。
在过去的三年里，政府出台了一系列驾驭楼市的政策——禁止当地居民购买第二套房；提高房贷利率；大力投资公共住房（廉租房）。
在这些政策的重压之下，去年，中国大部分地区的房价涨停；一些城市的房价甚至还下跌了十个百分点。但是，出于对经济增长迟缓的顾虑，政府放松了对货币政策的限制。虽然政府官员一再强调将继续调控楼市，但是投资者们还是纷纷折返房地产行业。
花旗银行的分析师称，中国的土地交易一直都很不稳定：2009年，楼市火爆，300个主要城市的土地交易上涨161%；而去年，土地交易却下滑了15个百分点。
在周三公布的一份报告中，花旗银行分析师指出，鉴于开发商对土地的争夺日益激烈，土地市场或将在今年表现强劲。但是他同时又指出，政府遏制房价过快增长的承诺或将使土地交易逐渐稳定。
分析人士指出，“我们相信，开发商现在会更加理智地投资。他们会先细细考量资产负债状况，而后寻求可持续发展，而不是一夜暴富的方式。”
Land prices have soared at recent auctions in Beijing in a sign that the Chinese property market is heating up again despite a long campaign by the government to cool it down.
A large parcel of land in Tongzhou, a Beijing suburb, sold this week for Rmb1bn ($160m), 491 per cent more than the starting price -- the highest premium paid at an auction in the capital in two years.
A recovery in the Chinese land market began towards the end of last year and is a welcome development for local governments, which rely on land sales as an important source of fiscal revenue. But the price surge has triggered criticism that officials could be laying the groundwork for a property bubble by restricting the supply of land.
In an unusual twist, the leading critic has been none other than the developer who won the Tongzhou auction. Ren Zhiqiang, an outspoken property tycoon, took to his microblog to launch a broadside against the government after placing the winning bid.
"I know that paying a high price for land is risky," Mr Ren, chief executive of Huayuan Group, said in one of a series of posts on his official Weibo account, a Twitter-like website.
"This is not a happy thing for my company, nor is it happy for society. But in order to survive, I have no choice but to struggle on amid the [government's] monopoly on land and the supply shortage," he said.
Mr Ren added: "Because of the fear of sky-high prices, the government has reduced the number of competitive auctions and so manufactured a land famine that has led to sky-high prices. Does the government think that reducing the supply of land will be a good way of controlling the rise in property prices?"
With a buildable area of 122,798 square metres, the Tongzhou land parcel sold at an average price of Rmb8,184 per sq m -- about twice the average monthly income in Beijing. Located 20km from the city centre, Tongzhou has in the past attracted younger couples looking for more affordable living options, but property prices are now climbing quickly there.
The government has used a battery of policies over the past three years to rein in the housing market. It has barred residents from buying second homes in major cities, raised mortgage rates and invested heavily in the construction of public housing.
Under the weight of these measures, property prices in most parts of the country stopped rising last year and in some cities fell as much as 10 per cent. However, concerned by the economic slowdown, the government has loosened monetary policy and investors have started to pile back into real estate, even though officials have vowed to keep the property market controls in place.
Land sales have typically been very volatile in China, increasing 161 per cent in 2009 in 300 key cities when the property market was hot, but then falling 15 per cent last year, according to analysts with Citi.
In a report published on Wednesday, the Citi analysts said they expected the land market to be strong this year as developers aggressively buy land. But they added that the government's commitment to keep housing prices from rising too quickly should be a force for stability.
"We believe developers are now more rational in managing their balance sheets and seeking sustainable, rather than explosive, growth," they said.
