Chinese property developer give discount to online homebuyers 

China Vanke, the country’s largest residential property developer by sales, and Taobao, the country’s largest virtual bazaar, have teamed up to offer homebuyers discounts for shopping online.

Home buyers can receive discounts of up to 2 million yuan (about $325,000) on 23 of Vanke’s projects in 12 cities, according to a report on Sina Finance, if they make their home purchases through the online marketplace. Even Taobao shoppers whose annual purchases don’t add up to much are eligible for a 50,000 yuan discount, according to Taobao’s promotional website.

In less than a day, 140 buyers had already claimed 1 million yuan in discounts using the promotion, the Sina report said.

In China, buying property through virtual means isn’t new. Property listings and e-commerce firm Leju Holdings recently concluded a “red packet” promotion for home buyers via WeChat, the mobile messaging platform owned by Tencent Holdings. The red packets containing discounts on homes, renovation and travel, as well as freebies such as electronics of varying value were given to more than 16 million people in the past few months, Leju said in its marketing material.

Chinese property developers have been offering a slew of discounts on homes this year amid a rising glut of apartments. Housing sales fell 10.5% by value terms in the January-July period compared with the same period a year ago, while average home prices fell for the third straight month in July on a month-on-month basis.

But cutting prices to boost sales has been a doubled-edged sword for the builders, as many homebuyers are still cautiously waiting on the sidelines for further discounts. Some firms have had to disguise price cuts as freebies because former homebuyers have become angry when companies offer discounts on homes they paid full price for. Some have even smashed showrooms after discounts were introduced.

 

Source: wsj

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