China developers cut prices by up to 10 per cent to spur sales amid slowdown as policymakers maintain market curbs

China’s property developers are pricing their new home projects at a discount to drum up sales amid market-cooling measures, seeking to boost cash as a sliding currency raises the cost on debt repayment.

Some builders are cutting as much as 10 per cent off their selling prices to boost cash flows, after latest official data showed the economy grew last quarter at the slowest pace since records began in March 1992.

The economic report was followed by data showing September new home prices (excluding state-subsidised housing) in 70 Chinese cities rose by the smallest since February.

“They are still under pressure to sell more homes in the coming two months,” said Gao Shen, a Shanghai-based independent analyst specialising in socio-economic issues. “They may not be able to sustain the expected sales increase next year given the government’s resolve in cooling the property sector.”

Tightened mortgage rules, price caps on new apartments, and more stringent approval process are among measures taken by the central and local governments since 2016 to tamp price speculation. Banks have also been asked to curb easy credit to developers.

Chinese developers, among the biggest indebted companies, are also eyeing the yuan performance. The local currency weakened past the psychological 7 per dollar level in August, inducing concerns that further depreciation may be in store amid a tense trade ties with the US.