Shenzhen housing sales sluggish

Peak season for Shenzhen's property market is the autumn months of September and October. But this year, the number of transactions dropped sharply over that period, as banks tightened credit and local governments issued policies to curb rising prices.

Sales of new residential homes dropped 16 percent in September month-on-month to three million square meters, a record low for a single month of the year. That is nearly 30 percent lower than the amount sold last September. The situation was even worse in October, according to the local housing management authority.

Wang Feng, Deputy Director of Shenzhen Real Estate Research Center said "Currently, more and more properties smaller than 90 square meters are being sold. They accounted for 30 percent of the property being sold at the beginning of the year. Now the rate is 44 percent. More properties in the 70 to 90 square meter range will hit the market next year. So property prices will experience an adjustment."

According to the research center, both investors and home buyers are taking a wait-and-see approach and that creates a stagnant market. But prices, which soared from an average 9000 yuan per square meter last year to 15,000 yuan in August, are expected to remain high.

Editor:Xiong Qu