(Yicai Global) Nov. 17 -- To attract potential homebuyers to sign on the dotted line, Chinese property developer Nanning Rail Real Estate is offering a decade of free metro journeys as a sweetener.

The promotional offer, which ends Dec. 31, gives buyers a 10-year pass to ride the five metro lines of Nanning, the capital of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Nanning Rail Real Estate, which is based in the city, is a unit of Nanning Rail Transit Group.

Nanning’s property market has softened since last year. Pre-owned house prices had fallen for 16 straight months as of August, official data showed, while the average cost was CNY11,000 (USD,1544) per square meter in September, down 5.2 percent from a peak of CNY11,600 per sqm in July last year and back to 2019’s level, according to real estate data provider Anjuke.

Nanning Rail Real Estate has seven new developments for sale, all in Nanning, priced from CNY9,800 to CNY25,000 (USD1,377 to USD3,512) per sqm, as significant discount.

Nanning’s housing stock depletion cycle is also relatively long at 25.6 months, according to figures from China Real Estate Information. As of the end of September, the stock of new-builds in the city stood at nearly 8.1 million sqm.

Since its establishment in 1981, Nanning Rail Real Estate has developed and built about 30 housing projects. The company’s main business is integrated real estate development, and it has nine subsidiaries and one escrow company, according to its website.

Editor: Futura Costaglione