Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai housing prices have dropped 20 percent off their peak since June last year, leading to a decline in the number of real estate agencies of nearly 30 percent, eastday.com reported today.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Shanghai housing prices fell by 1.8 percent in August last year, 1.2 percent in September and 1.1 percent in October, the leading rate of decline nationally for three consecutive months.
By this month, a growing number of property projects had seen price reductions of at least 20 percent and a subsequent recovery in sales.
Zhangjiang Tomson Garden, offering prices 10-20 percent lower than those of neighboring projects, recorded sales of over 600 apartments from August to November last year and was the biggest winner for local apartment sales.
The shrinking number of property transactions and slumping prices have cut the number of real estate agencies by nearly 30 percent. In September last year the city's largest real estate website, Anjia.com, announced the temporary suspension of its property loan service. Zhiheng Real Estate, the largest locally-based property agency, slashed the number of its direct sales outlets from 143 early last year to 50 currently.
Many agencies chose to withdraw from the market to avoid incurring more costs in such an unprofitable market, said an industry analyst.