Chinese Property Developers Accept Farm Produce For Rent

Chinese property developers accept farm produce for rent

Several Chinese property developers have said they would accept food as payment for homes in recent months, as they attempt to attract buyers.

The companies advertised deals to let people use produce – including peaches, water melons and garlic – as down payments on new homes.

However, some of these unusual offers have now reportedly been pulled.

Home sales in China have fallen for 11 months in a row, while this week a major developer defaulted on its debts.

Last week, a property company in the eastern city of Wuxi said it would allow peaches be used to offset as much as 188,888 Chinese yuan ($28,218; £23,289) in down payments for homes.

Another developer in nearby Nanjing said it would accept as much as 5,000kg of watermelon from farmers. It valued the produce at 100,000 Chinese yuan – several times what it would cost at local markets.

However, the promotion that was meant to run until next Friday has been suspended, the state-run Global Times newspaper reported.

“We were told to delete all promotional posters on the social media platforms,” the paper quoted a representative of the company as saying, without giving further details.

In May, property firm Central China Management ran a 16-day campaign in which it accepted garlic as down payments for homes in China’s Qi county, a major garlic-producing region.

Several Chinese property developers have said they would accept food as payment for homes in recent months, as they attempt to attract buyers.

The companies advertised deals to let people use produce – including peaches, water melons and garlic – as down payments on new homes.

However, some of these unusual offers have now reportedly been pulled.

Home sales in China have fallen for 11 months in a row, while this week a major developer defaulted on its debts.

Last week, a property company in the eastern city of Wuxi said it would allow peaches be used to offset as much as 188,888 Chinese yuan ($28,218; £23,289) in down payments for homes.

Another developer in nearby Nanjing said it would accept as much as 5,000kg of watermelon from farmers. It valued the produce at 100,000 Chinese yuan – several times what it would cost at local markets.

However, the promotion that was meant to run until next Friday has been suspended, the state-run Global Times newspaper reported.

“We were told to delete all promotional posters on the social media platforms,” the paper quoted a representative of the company as saying, without giving further details.

In May, property firm Central China Management ran a 16-day campaign in which it accepted garlic as down payments for homes in China’s Qi county, a major garlic-producing region.