Chickens come home to roost for Chinese buyers

It’s not just in Hong Kong, of course, that the property market is part of broader concerns about the economy. That can also be found north of the border.

Photos run on various online sites last week showed pandemonium in China as a property developer in Guangxi held a "1,000 chicken giveaway" in an effort to lure buyers as the market flags.

As we've reported in Asia Briefing in recent weeks, China's property market is looking a bit toppy. As around 15 per cent of the economy is linked to real estate, and as a slowdown has ramifications for many different sectors, including the building trade and the steel industry, such an event is a source of concern.

So one bright spark in Guangxi province decided to give away free chickens to encourage people to buy property. As you might expect, chaos ensued, tents were knocked over and people toppled in the crush.

The country's biggest residential developer, China Vanke, has linked up the Alibaba unit Taobao, China's version of eBay, to give shoppers who have spent at least 1 yuan (€0.13) on Taobao in the past year a discount of 50,000 yuan (€6,447) when they buy a house in one of 40 Vanke projects in 14 cities.

China Poly Real Estate, one of the country’s largest developers, has launched a promotion where buyers can get discounts proportionate to the amount of weight they lose in a few weeks.

From the government side, Chinese homebuyers will face lower downpayments on second homes as banks and regulators look to boost the market.

Chinese citizens who wish to buy a second home will enjoy the same 30 per cent down payment required of first-time home buyers if they have fully repaid their mortgage loans, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, and the China Banking Regulatory Commission said in a joint-announcement late last month.

Previously, second homebuyers were required to come up with at least 60 per cent of the purchase price.

No information, either, about how many people bought property as well as picking up the free chickens.