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Real estate agent lands in hot water after using durians and bananas as ciphers for home prices to evade crackdown
- The Macalline Aijia agency set prices of second-hand units at double the official limit and tried to hide behind a cipher that used durians and bananas, an investigation found
- The agency was rebuked for its ‘misleading campaign’ and has voluntarily shut its doors for a week for self-review after the fruity price code went viral online
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A property agent in Shenzhen that attempted to circumvent government pricing guidelines by using fruit symbols as a code for home prices has received a warning from the authorities for its “misconduct”.
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The Macalline Aijia agency inflated the prices of second-hand units well beyond official limits and tried to disguise the fact by displaying a cipher that used durians and bananas in place of numerical values, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said late on Tuesday.
The code, with the fruits representing specific amounts, flouted the standard reference price set by the local authorities as part of efforts to steer prices from their speculative levels, an investigation by the Shenzhen Nanshan Housing and Construction Bureau and the Shenzhen Real Estate Intermediary Association found.
Macalline Aijia was rebuked for its “misconduct” and “misleading campaign” and has voluntarily shut its doors for a week for self-review, the association told the Post.
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“The agents in the district have been informed of the punishment and should take it as a warning. Property agents should follow closely the guiding prices announced by the government, guiding the homebuyers rationally and should not market homes in an non-compliant manner,” said Xinhua, citing the local housing watchdog.
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