Tasty discounts: China property firms accept watermelon, garlic, peaches as partial payment for new homes amid housing slump
- Restricted from cutting prices in a slumping market, creative developers have started accepting bulk produce to offset part of the price of a new home
- In one case a developer offered US$14,921 off a home price in exchange for 5,000kg of watermelons – at least five times the market rate
Amid a months-long slump and with local governments not allowing large price cuts, a developer in Nanjing in June invited buyers to sell it up to 5,000kg of watermelons to offset 100,000 yuan (US$14,921) of the price of a new flat. A developer in Henan province accepted about 430,000kg of garlic from buyers over 16 days in late May and early June, helping it sell 30 homes. In Wuxi, in Jiangsu province, homebuyers could provide peaches to offset up to 188,888 yuan per unit.
“Local governments do not allow price cuts at will, so developers can only sneakily find ways to cut prices,” said Zhang Dawei, chief analyst at Centaline Property Agency.
Nanjing’s Seazen Holdings launched the watermelon scheme, which was meant to run from June 28 to July 15, according to a graphic circulated online. The housing price there is about 18,800 yuan per square meter, translating to around 1.5 million to 2.3 million yuan per housing unit.
The wholesale price of a kilogram of watermelon in Nanjing is between 2 yuan and 4 yuan, according to trade data platform Xiggua. By offering to pay 20 yuan per kilogram (100,000 yuan for 5,000kg), the developer was effectively paying at least five times the market rate for the juicy fruits.
