Property prices in the country are likely to see a "sharp drop" next year, when a number of low-income housing projects come up, a local newspaper reported yesterday.

"A slump in housing prices is just around the corner. Some 50,000 low-income houses will complete construction next year, which will bring down the prices," Dai Jianzhong, deputy director with the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences (BASS), was quoted as saying in the Beijing Times.

From January to September, the total price of commercial residences was nearly half of what it stood at during the same period in 2007, a BASS report released on Tuesday said.