Labour Day felt more like Christmas Day as mainland developers slashed prices to lure homebuyers during the three-day holiday break, which ended yesterday. However, sales did not jump significantly, according to property agents.
In Guangzhou, a small number of developers, including companies from Hong Kong, offered discounts of 20 to 30 per cent during the holiday to attract buyers, the general manager at Centaline Property Agency's Guangzhou office, Huang Tao, said.
Demand had surged for these projects, boosting transactions by 30 to 40 per cent in the province over the last few days, compared to recent weeks, he said. Sales had climbed back to where they were more than a year ago.
One example of the discounting was new flats at Star River near Panyu, which were cut from 26,000 yuan (HK$31,971) per square metre to 22,000 yuan, he said.
About half the provinces' developers cut prices, with almost 90 per cent offering 5 to 10 per cent discounts and the rest slashing prices by 20 to 30 per cent. Flats with low or no discounts were harder to sell.
'Government restrictions on home purchases are still in place; many people are still deterred from entering the market,' Huang said.