Mainland developers raise home prices on improved market sentiment
Companies taking their cue from improved market sentiment and easing credit measures
Mainland developers have started raising asking prices for some of their developments, taking advantage of the central government's credit easing measures, but cautious home buyers remain selective.
While a supportive policy environment would boost buyer sentiment and release pent-up demand, some cities were doing better than others, analysts said.
China Vanke, Evergrande Real Estate and China Overseas Land & Investment have raised asking prices at projects in major cities including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chongqing, according to the China Real Estate Information (CRIC) research institute, a unit of real estate services firm E-House China.
"Some developers directly raised asking prices, and some offered low asking prices in the first batch to draw buyers and increased prices gradually," CRIC analyst Shen Xiaoling said in a research report.
For instance, China Vanke raised the asking price at Emerald Riverside in Shanghai by 5.8 per cent to 71,720 yuan (HK$88,922) per square metre. China Overseas Land & Investment also raised prices at its La Cité development in Chongqing by 2 per cent to 3 per cent, according to the survey conducted by CRIC early this month.
In anticipation of more supportive government policies for the real estate sector this year, the institute said that home prices in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, and second-tier cities such as Fuzhou, in Fujian, and Jinan, in Shandong, saw modest increases in January.