Used home sales at a 6-year low, inventories up

Purchases of pre-owned homes in Beijing reached a six-year low in March, Centaline Property Agency said on Monday.

And sales aren't likely to improve this month, said Zhang Dawei, Centaline's chief analyst, as a wave of new homes are ready to hit the market.

A total of 8,943 units were sold in March, according to Centaline. That accounts for just one-fifth of the 43,780 units sold the previous March. Prices went down, too, dropping 0.6 percent from February to 31,400 yuan ($5,055) per square meter in March.