BEIJING -- Sales of second-hand homes in Beijing slumped to a three-year low in the first 19 days of September, China National Radio reported on Sept 25.

The contract sales of existing homes stood at 4,233 units from Sept 1 to 19, the report said, citing figures from the Beijing's real estate transaction management website. In Beijing's real-estate circles, September is known as the golden month as typically many houses are sold during it.

The number represented a drop of 73.4 percent from the same period of last year and was less than one-fourth of the transaction volume in the same period of 2009, according to the report.

"Price cuts of new property projects have affected prices of second-hand homes in the region," said Zhang Dawei, an analyst with Centraline Property, a Beijing-based real estate agency.

The Chinese government has reiterated that it will work to rein in surging property prices. The government has limited purchases of housing in cities where gains have been deemed excessive and the central bank has raised interest rate three times this year to increase borrowing costs.