Developers’ Desire to Cut Prices Poses Conundrum for Regulators

Property developers in South China’s Guangdong province have asked the local government to relax restrictions that bar them from cutting prices as they see fit, as many struggle to shore up sales to keep much-needed cash coming in.

The developers’ request in Guangdong illustrates the Catch-22 that the country’s property market regulators have found themselves in. Allowing developers to lower prices could cause a market-roiling drop in housing prices, while maintaining current restrictions risks further squeezing an industry that is already rife with companies teetering on collapse.