China’s housing market springs back to life as sales in 30 major cities triple with coronavirus crisis abating
- Property sales in 30 tier-1 and tier-2 cities triple in March from February in sign coronavirus crisis is abating
- Sizzling sales in pockets of market unlikely to compensate for expected decline in nationwide sales this year, analysts say
China’s private housing market is springing back to life as more sales offices reopened across the country following a nationwide shutdown, saving home builders from a deeper financial slump this year.
Transactions in at least eight large cities – Shenzhen, Chengdu, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Huaian, Yangzhou, Jiaxing, Shantou – indicated buyers have returned in recent weeks, with volume surpassing the average levels in the final quarter of 2019, according to China Real Estate Information Corporation (CRIC).
The rebound comes as a relief to the industry after measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak kept buyers away and almost froze the market. Developers have since offered discounts to boost sales and avert a liquidity crunch as factories resumed production and lockdowns eased in signs the health crisis is abating.
“Prices of some new projects were capped [by the government], lower than the market price, so some projects are popular” with the buyers, said Yang Hongxu, deputy head of E-house China Research and Development Institute. “Restrictions on housing and land prices also created some room for arbitrage, so people are rushing to buy houses and property developers scramble to buy land.”
Home sales in 30 large and medium-sized cities, a bellwether for the nationwide trend, reached 8.6 million sq m (92.6 million sq ft) this month, more than treble the 2.33 million sq m recorded in February, according to Wind Information.
