China’s biggest listed property developer, Vanke, saw its real estate sales plunge 35% in August, compared with a year earlier, Reuters reported. Monthly sales totaled US$595 million. Sales also sank 33% in terms of area, to 474,000 square meters during the month. China’s property market has been weak since late last year because of the overall slowing economy and a decline in speculative purchases of high-end housing. In the first eight months of this year, the value of real estate sales rose 5% from a year earlier but shrank 4.8% in terms of area, Vanke said. Last month, the developer reported a 24% rise in net profits for the first half of this year but scaled back its real estate development plans for the second half of the year in response to the market’s weakness. It originally planned to start work on 8.48 million square meters of space and complete work on 6.89 million square meters this year, but revised those targets to 6.83 million and 5.86 million. News that Vanke cut prices in Shanghai and Hangzhou contributed Monday to the Shanghai stock market closing at its lowest point in more than 20 months.