China Daily (Hong Kong)

Home price growth slows in Jan

- By WU YIYAO in Shanghai wuyiyao@chinadaily.com.cn

Home price growth slowed for the fourth consecutiv­e month in January, after policymake­rs introduced city-specific measures to cool down overheated residentia­l property markets nationwide, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.

Average new home prices in January grew 0.2 percent month-on-month, compared with December’s 0.3 percent rise, according to NBS research, which monitors home prices in 70 major cities.

Since city-specific measures were launched in the fourth quarter of 2016, some 15 key cities including second-tier ones, have seen obvious changes in their residentia­l property markets with home prices being stabilized, and some starting to drop, according to Liu Jianwei, a senior statistici­an with the NBS.

“Among these cities, new home prices in 11 cities dropped month-on-month in January by somewhere between 0.1 percent and 0.5 percent, and in another three Listed developers stay profitable in 2016 cities, maintained the same level as the previous month.

In Guangzhou, new home prices rose 0.6 percent monthon-month, with growth slowing for four consecutiv­e months,” said Liu.

In third-tier cities, the aver- age price of new homes rose 0.4 percent in January, the same as the previous month, marking a stable trend, the NBS report said.

Analysts said that the data showed the measures were effective in cooling overheated markets and curbing speculativ­e buying, and home price trends may diverge in various cities.

“Key cities are likely to see even stronger measures if there is further growth, while lower-tier cities neighborin­g key cities are likely to grow slightly due to spillover effects, as buyers’ demands can be shifted from key cities to smaller cities. Overall, home prices have further stabilized, and wild growth is coming to an end,” said Zhang Dawei, chief analyst with Centaline Property.

Xin Zhenwei, an analyst with Shanghai-based Huanyu Property Ltd, said that the transactio­n volume of both new properties and preowned ones has declined in recent months.

“The stable home price trend gives buyers more options and more time to think about demand and affordabil­ity, which is a good thing. In Shanghai’s central districts the average price is still at a high level while in suburban areas, properties are more affordable and there is more room for bargaining,” said Xin.

More than 80 percent of 81 listed real estate developers that posted their estimated performanc­es for 2016 said they were profitable, thanks to fast-growing sales, according to data provider Wind Informatio­n Co Ltd.

Some 40 more listed real estate companies are due to post their estimated performanc­es for 2016 in the next two weeks.

The majority of developers were profitable last year, given that the average profit growth of 128 listed developers in the first three quarters of 2016 was 28.6 percent.

Twelve developers estimated they were loss-making in 2016, due to sluggish sales and high financing costs.

“Developers will face more pressure in 2017 in an environmen­t with more uncertaint­ies, and strengthen­ed policies against speculativ­e buying,” a research note from Ping An Securities Co said.

“For developers with high inventorie­s in lower-tier cities, pressure on sales will remain in 2017,” it said.

China Galaxy Securities Co said that real estate developmen­t market was likely to face more consolidat­ion in 2017. “China now has more than 1,200 developers but more than 70 percent of the market share goes to top 100 developers.”

“It is likely that developers of large scale projects will likely seek growth from mergers and acquisitio­ns,” it said.

 ?? WEI LIANG / CHINA NEWS SERVICES ?? A potential homebuyer checks out a property project in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, on Wednesday.
WEI LIANG / CHINA NEWS SERVICES A potential homebuyer checks out a property project in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, on Wednesday.

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