BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Property sales dropped sharply in January in first-tier cities in China mainly due to seasonal factors, China Daily reported Thursday.
Last month, property sales declined 38 percent year on year in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the newspaper cited data from Centaline Property Agency.
Guangzhou saw the most dramatic decease of 65 percent, followed by Beijing, where home sales were down by more than 40 percent.
Xie Yifeng, president of the Realty Association of Asia-Pacific Cities, said the dropping sales were due to seasonal factors and should not be regarded as a market trend, according to the paper.
"Property developers were not passionate about selling new projects during the holiday, and it was not very realistic for banks to release housing loans before or during the holiday," Xie said.
The Spring Festival, China's Lunar New Year, fell on Feb. 5 this year.
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