Mainland home prices have tumbled by as much as 19 %this month as developers resort to wide-scale price discounting in a bid to lure wary buyers back to the stagnating property market.

Guangzhou-based Evergrande Real Estate Group fired the first salvo in the latest discount war on May 5 when it said it was slashing prices in 40 projects in 20 cities by 15% until Sunday. Other developers followed suit and prices of units in projects being launched in Shanghai, Beijing and Nanjing have been cut by as much as 19%.

The discounts are in response to a sharp fall in sales since the April 16 crackdown on credit to the housing market,

South China Morning Post