Real estate investment in China rose by 21.6
percent to 4.02 trillion yuan ($624 billion) during the first four
months of the year from a year ago, official data showed on Monday.
Nearly 3.02 trillion yuan of the total was used for residential
development, up 24.4 percent on a yearly basis, according to the
National Bureau of Statistics.
Property investment growth slowed down during the four months
compared to an increase of 25.6 percent in the first three months,
further eclipsed by a 28.8 percent rise in residential property
investment between January and March from a year ago, it said.
Experts expect the sector to remain stable along with an improving
business environment and continue to abide by the central authorities'
guideline that housing is for living in, not for speculation.
Property sales from January to April grew by 48.1 percent on a yearly
basis in terms of floor area, slowing from a 63.8 percent rise in the
first quarter of the year. Home sales grew 51.1 percent and 73.2 percent
on yearly basis in terms of gross floor area and sales revenue, both of
which were relatively milder than the 68.1 percent and 95.5 percent
seen in the first quarter, respectively, according to NBS data.
The slower investment data and sales figures are due to the curbs on
the property market as well as a seasonal slowdown, said Pan Hao, a
senior analyst with the Beike Research Institute.
Since the beginning of this year, cities like Dongguan in Guangdong
province, Jiaxing and Ningbo in Zhejiang province, Nanjing of Jiangsu
province, Hefei of Anhui province, Guangzhou of Guangdong province and
Chengdu of Sichuan province have announced various policies including
purchase restrictions, price caps, lucky draws for home purchase, and
presales management, which have effectively stabilized local home
prices, said Pan.
The rapid economic recovery from COVID-19 has buoyed demand for new
homes in China, and in response to the market demand, property
developers are becoming more active in terms of land acquisition, said
Zhang Dawei, chief analyst at Centaline Property Agency Ltd.
The NBS also released data on new home prices in the nation's 70
major cities on Monday, which showed an across-the-board growth in
April, while pre-owned apartment sales showed varied trends, said Sheng
Guoqing, chief statistician with the NBS.
In April, new home prices in the 70 major cities tracked by the NBS
rose by 0.5 percent on a monthly basis and by 4.4 percent on a yearly
basis.
"Although most of the major cities had announced restrictions on home
purchases, prices continued edging up in April, showing the necessity
for local governments to react more spontaneously when surge signs
appear," said Yan Yuejin, director of the Shanghai-based E-house China
Research and Development Institution.
Of the 70 cities, 62 saw growth in new home prices, three cities reported no change, while five posted declines.
New home prices in the four first-tier cities rose by 0.6 percent on a
monthly basis, with Guangzhou taking the lead with 1.1 percent growth,
followed by Beijing with 0.6 percent, Shenzhen with 0.5 percent and
Shanghai with 0.3 percent.
Compared to a year ago, the four top-tier cities saw a 5.8 percent
growth in new home prices, up 0.6 percentage point from that of the
previous month, according to the NBS.
First-tier cities outperformed smaller cities in new home price
growth. The 31 second-tier cities monitored by the NBS saw prices
increase by 0.6 percent on a monthly basis, and by 4.9 percent on a
yearly basis, while the figures were 0.4 percent and 3.9 percent for 35
third-tier cities.
In the pre-owned home market, first-tier cities continued to take the
lead in price gains. Compared with March, prices of pre-owned homes in
the top-tier cities rose by 0.8 percent on average, and witnessed an
11.3 percent growth on a yearly basis.
Used home prices in 31 second-tier cities, mostly provincial
capitals, rose 0.5 percent from a month ago, and 3.4 percent
year-on-year. The 35 third-tier cities saw existing home prices edge up
0.3 percent on a monthly basis, and by 2.5 percent from the same period a
year ago.
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