Home sales flatter to deceive

Peak season of Sept, Oct slumps, but analysts say pessimism wrong

Every year, China's property industry looks forward to September and October, by far the busiest months for home sales. If September was gold, October was silver. Not any more, industry insiders said.

This September, only 15,283 pre-owned apartments were traded in Beijing, up just 1.61 percent from the slack season of August, according to property consultancy Centaline.