THE average price of new homes in Shenzhen declined to 55,611 yuan (US$8,178) per square meter in October from 61,600 yuan in September, the Shenzhen Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.

    Data from the city’s urban planning authority showed that the average transaction price of new homes in Shenzhen dropped by 10 percent to 55,611 yuan per square meter in October, as a result of the new home purchase restrictions imposed by the city government earlier last month. Meanwhile, around 70 percent of homeowners have lowered their asking prices for pre-owned apartments, the Daily report said.

    A total of 422,500 square meters of new apartments were traded in Shenzhen last month, down 22.1 percent compared with the same period last year. The trading volume of pre-owned housing also went down to 527,500 square meters last month, with a year-on-year decline of 6.2 percent.

    Only one new residential estate entered the market after the city tightened its home purchase policies Oct. 4, which is rare because September and October were a boom season for the real estate market in previous years, according to the report.

    A spokesperson for the city’s urban planning, land and resources commission said that the commission would guide more property developers to the market by helping them apply for pre-sale permits.

    Shenzhen’s market supervision authorities have cracked down on irregularities in the real estate market by raiding 40 residential estates that had new apartments for sale recently.

    The city’s financial industry development and service office is stepping up the verification of homebuyers’ ability to repay home loans and the sources of their down payments for new homes.

    (Zhang Yang)