(Yicai Global) Sept. 7 -- Price cuts, the intended cure for China's property sales slump, are biting slowly as the real estate market is expected to remain cold this month and the next, according to industry data.

Few property developers in China have achieved revenue hikes amid sales promotions this year, according to industry data.

Price cuts are expected to continue in September and October, a traditional peak season. Sources from China Overseas Land & Investment, which managed to buck the downward trend, said that the company’s marketing department is likely to continue on the same path as this time last year and provide buyers with discounts and add-ons such as free home appliances.

However, the results may be meager. The real estate market in September is hardly optimistic, according to property institute CRIC China. There may not be a peak season for a third straight year, it added.

Certain regions are doing better than others. Transactions in Beijing and Hefei are expected to rebound significantly, and those in Chongqing and Qingdao are expected to bottom out and start rising, per CRIC. However, most third and fourth-tier cities are predicted to continue feeling the pinch, and price wars may be intensified in some cities.

Four of the nation's top 20 housing enterprises based on revenue have cut prices by more than 10 percent in the first half, according to the China Index Academy. The biggest discount giver is Jinke Smart Services Group with its nearly 22 percent reduction. Country Garden Holdings is second with an almost 15 percent cut, followed by Greenland Holdings, and Greentown China Holdings.

But sales have still remained sluggish. The country's top 100 housing enterprises recorded a 31 percent decline in sales in August from a year ago, and the sum was nearly unchanged from July, based on data from CRIC. From January to August, sales tanked by 48 percent year-over-year.

There are outliers. For example, Gemdale, which raised its prices in the first half, boosted its scale of contracted area by 14 percent in August from a year earlier to one million square meters. Meanwhile, sales jumped by 12 percent to CNY21.2 billion (USD3.1 billion).

An insider at the Shenzhen-based property management firm said to Yicai Global that Gemdale could still consider flexible pricing strategies to increase its turnover.
In addition to Gemdale, sales of seven other real estate developers, including Poly Developments and Holdings Group and China Overseas Land & Investment, rebounded last month, according to CRIC. China Jinmao Holdings Group was the leader in this regard as its sales surged by 57 percent.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi