By ZHONG HUI and GUO MENGJIE

The sale of some 500 apartments, boasting pristine views along the Qiantangjiang River in Hangzhou, that took place in November has gone sour for Zhejiang Qianjiang Ship Ltd Co, the developer of the apartments.

The company sold 505 apartments, designed as “the most high-end service apartment” in the capital city of Zhejiang, from the Haiyun International Building to Zhejiang Zhongya Business Ltd, Co, which was established in the same month that the deal made. This is the biggest real estate deal returned in Zhejiang.

On Sept 15, the houses were returned to Qianjiang Ship Co as Zhongya had not made payments on the property.

Zhongya’s purchase of the houses attracted attention last year, especially after investigations revealed the company is not located at the registered address and has a suspicious registered telephone number.

The transactions fold was 20,622 yuan ($3,200) per square meter, and the total market value reached to 1.29 billion yuan, while the price on the pre-sale permit was 30,000 yuan per square meter.

Court documents show that the two signed 505 Zhejiang commercial housing sales contracts registered in housing administration bureau with Zhongya paying 50 million yuan to the developer as a security deposit.

The contract stipulated that the full payment must be made within one month after signing contract. The payment had still not been completed and the houses were returned to Qianjiang Ship Co.

The mysteriousness surrounding Zhongya has worried some involved with the transaction.

Zhongya’s registered phone number actually belonged to the foreign investment department of Shangcheng District Investment Promotion Bureau, and it was the bureau that introduced Zhongya to the developer.

Staff from the bureau declined to comment on the relationship between the bureau and Zhongya.

The price for the now-available homes will remain at 30,000 yuan per sq m.

“Last year our company was the agent for the sale of that estate, but a client reached a agreement with the developer hoping to establish a hotel and the cooperation stopped,” said a representative from Qianjiang Ship Co.

Chen Liyan, the developer’s marketing director, said that Zhongya Company had been interested in these houses, but did not pay the rest money because of financial problems. Chen added that although Zhongya lost 50 million yuan in their security deposit, her company suffered more.

The estate market is worse than last year and the company must modify the project, Chen said, adding that they are still hopeful the houses will sell because of the building’s scenic river views.