A Chinese man went on a killing spree following a dispute over family properties Thursday, leaving six people dead in a village outside Beijing, police said.

The 34-year-old, identified only by his surname Zhao, stabbed several people with a knife in Wanghua in Huairou, in the suburbs of the capital, before being overpowered by police, said the Beijing Public Security Bureau.

Six people died and an unspecified number of wounded were being treated in hospital, police authorities said on a verified account on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

Initial investigations showed the incident was triggered by a dispute over family housing assets, the statement said.

Zhao's family members said he previously had mental problems, it added.

Property prices in Beijing have been skyrocketing in recent years and a typical two-bedroom apartment in the city can easily cost two million yuan ($320,000) or more.

Land in the surrounding rural area is also becoming increasingly valuable as the city expands.

The real estate boom has seen a rise in family disputes over assets.

A Beijing man was executed last year after being convicted of murdering his nephew in 2011 due to a "family property dispute", previous Chinese media reports said.