China’s February home sales value extends decline as trade war weighs on the lifetime buying decision for most people
- Contracted sales value by China’s 100 largest developers fell 11 per cent in February, from last year, according to data by China Real Estate Information Corp
- Sales may contract by more than 10 per cent in March, according to a forecast by China International Capital Corp, the country’s largest investment bank
China’s February home sales extended their decline, following a weak showing a month earlier, as economic uncertainty from the nation’s ongoing trade war with the United States continued to weigh on what could be the biggest purchase of a lifetime for most buyers.
The contracted sales value by China’s 100 largest developers fell 11 per cent last month to a combined 446.4 billion yuan (US$66.7 billion), compared with last year, according to data by China Real Estate Information Corporation (CRIC). Compared with January, sales last month slid 23 per cent.
“February should have been a busy season, especially for smaller cities where returnees to their hometowns typically snap up a property to mark the Lunar New Year celebrations, but this didn’t materialise this year,” said the consultancy’s research director Yang Kewei. During the same period in 2018, holiday home sales boomed, forming a higher base for comparison.
The growth in China’s real estate sales, crimped by draconian measures since October 2017 to stem speculation, has slowed further in recent months as the effects of the escalating US-China trade war spilled into the economy. Manufacturing activity has slowed in the “world’s factory’, causing consumption to falter.
Still, it may take time for buyers to gain enough confidence to return to the market, considering that a property is typically the biggest purchase of a lifetime for most owners.