Wheat Or Garlic As Down Payment For House: How Chinese Developer Is Trying To Boost Property Sales

Latest advertisement by Central China Real Estate says 'swap wheat for house' in title, offers buyers to use the crop to offset as much as 160,000 yuan of down payment in one of its projects.

A property developer in China recently put out advertisements in what appears to be a desperate attempt to attract buyers as the country’s real estate market faces a slump. The Henan-based company is offering to take wheat and garlic as down payments for houses, news agency Reuters reported. Both crops are priced at 2 yuan per catty, the Chinese unit of mass that equals to around 500 gram, according to the report.

The latest advertisement by Central China Real Estate says "swap wheat for house" in its title and offers buyers to use the crop to offset as much as 160,000 yuan (approximately Rs 18.6 lakh) of down payment in one of its projects, the report said.

While the Central China Real Estate did not respond to a request sent by the news agency for a comment, a sales agent who answered the call made to the phone number displayed on the advertisement said the promotion mainly targeted farmers in the region, and that it would remain in effect until July 10. 

Quoting the agent, the report said the real estate project in the central province of Henan offers houses for around 600,000 to 900,000 yuan.

Garlic Promotion Offer Saw 30 Transaction, Says Firm 

Late last month, a similar advertisement by the company said buyers of houses in another project could make down payments in garlic at 5 yuan per catty. The 16-day promotion offer attracted 852 visits and 30 transactions, involving 860,000 catties of garlic, the company claimed in the advertisement.

According to the Reuters report, the wholesale market price for both garlic and wheat is 1.5 yuan per 500 gram.

The real estate market in China, which accounts for a quarter of the Asian giant’s overall output, saw a massive dip in transactions between January and May, leading to developers devising ways to boost sales. The offers they have been coming up with include free parking lots or renovations at a later stage, the report said, adding that smaller down payments, subsidies and better terms for households with more than one child are some of the other measures introduced by developers to revive the sector.