In China’s depressed real-estate market, desperate developers are accepting wheat and garlic as down payments for rural properties to boost sales.
The alternative payment method comes as analysts expect property sales in China to have dropped by 25% from January to June amid China’s zero-Covid strategy.
China’s citizens are also shying away from real-estate investments, preferring to hoard cash in China’s uncertain economic climate.
To boost sales, property developer Central China Real Estate is offering a “swap wheat for house” promotion for homes in Minquan County, Henan Province. Priced at RMB2, or $0.30, for every catty, buyers can pay up to 160,000 yuan, or $23,900, of their down payment with wheat. Prices of houses in the development range from RMB600,000 to RMB900,000.
The promotion will end on July 10 and is targeted at farmers in the region, an agent from Central China Real Estate said.
The company is no stranger to launching marketing campaigns targeting farmers. At the start of China’s garlic season in May, the company accepted garlic as payment for another project in Henan Province.
“On the occasion of the new garlic season, the company has made a resolute decision to benefit garlic farmers in Qi County,” the company wrote in the WeChat post.
“We are helping farmers with love, and making it easier for them to buy homes,” it added.