Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Makkah is sacred; selling its dwellings is forbidden, and renting out its houses is also forbidden." It has been narrated in this way as marfu' (attributed to the Prophet), but that is a mistake; the correct view is that this hadith is mawquf (the saying of the Companion). Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami told me this from Imam al-Daraqutni.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب البيوع / 11184