(Yicai Global) Oct. 2 -- Beijing selected 427 families using a lottery system on Saturday, allowing them to purchase the city's first joint ownership homes, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

More than 12,000 eligible families participated in the drawing.

The winners will be able to buy apartments in Chaoyang district for USD3,300 (CNY22,000) per square meter, lower than the second-hand market price of CNY50,000 to CNY60,000 per square meter that the surrounding area fetches. They will split ownership evenly with the Beijing municipal government.

It is Beijing's first joint ownership housing project since the idea's introduction in August. The scheme aims to help those who would otherwise not be able to buy their own homes.

Members from each of the 427 households are either registered or working in Chaoyang, but don't own houses. 

Five years after purchase, owners can sell their shares based on the market price, but the government or its assigned management agencies have a right of first refusal, per guidelines issued by the city housing commission that oversees the process.

China has recently rolled out measures to stabilize the housing market and curb speculation.

The Beijing government plans to invest in  250,000 jointly-owned housing units in the next five years. Some 1.50 million new units await construction in the same period.