The number of residential properties sold in Nanjing totalled 8,486 units in May, equivalent to 949,000 sq metres, according the Nanjing Real Estate Bureau. Both totals were about 10 per cent lower than the previous month. In April, 9,755 units were sold, totalling 1.03m sq metres.

Analysts believe that the recent price rises imposed by some major developers have backfired. But officials argued that the fact that nearly 280 properties are sold each day in Nanjing shows that there is still demand from ordinary residents.

The situation in the central Chinese city of Wuhan was more buoyant. Property transaction volume in the Hubei capital hit 8,107 units in May, 980 units more than in the previous month. Average daily property transaction volume was 261 units, according to a local real estate researcher quoted by China Knowledge. This represented a month-on-month increase of 13.75 per cent or a year-on-year increase of 77.75 per cent.