China developer offers BMWs for buyers
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A Chinese developer is offering BMWs to buyers of its apartments, as the country's cash-strapped real estate industry struggles to boost sales after government restrictions squeezed demand.
The owner of Central Mansions, a huge housing development comprising nine tower blocks in the eastern Chinese city of Yueqing, will give away a BMW for the first 150 buyers, a sales consultant said.
"There are still a few cars left. First come, first served," said the consultant, who declined to be named.
Demand for apartments has been falling across China after authorities, fearing a property bubble, banned the purchase of second homes, increased minimum down payments and trialled property taxes in some cities.
At the same time, property developers have been hit by a lack of funds, as the government hiked interest rates and restricted bank lending to rein in surging inflation and bring real estate prices into line.
In Beijing, sales of second-hand homes in the first 10 months of the year fell 35.8 percent year on year to 101,188 units, according to official figures.
Chinese developers have come up with a series of enticements in recent months as they try to offload their property in a slowing market.
Some offer free garages or air-conditioning, but others have been more inventive. One property speculator in Shanghai put up a World War II-era fighter plane to woo buyers for a house he wants to sell, said earlier reports.
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's said last month it expected China's property prices to fall by 10 percent nationwide over the next year as the restrictions took effect.
The BMW the Yueqing developer is offering costs around 300,000 yuan ($47,200), roughly 13 percent of the price of an apartment in the compound, according to this week's Wenzhou Metropolis News.
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