Beijing's credit crackdown targeting homebuyers has had the desired effect, emptying sales rooms during the long Labour Day weekend and dampening housing demand.

"I did not have a single viewing appointment during the whole three-day holiday," said Kent Liu Jing, a property agent working for estate agency Noble Land in Hangzhou. "Even at the height of the global financial crisis in late 2008, I still had one or two calls a day."

Kenneth Pak Kei-yuen, a senior general manager in the Beijing office of Midland Realty, shared the same sentiments. "The cooling measures that came out in the past two weeks made the already quiet weekend even quieter. We are seeing falling transaction levels and rising cancellations," he said.

South China Morning Post