Homelink plans course correction to ride out China's property downturn

Bracing for a long struggle amid a housing market downturn, Homelink, Beijing's largest real estate agency by market share, has slowed its pace of expansion while diversifying into the new home market.

"We haven't set any targets in adding branches and agents since the end of last year," said Lin Qian, Homelink's vice-president.

The agency, which used to focus on the secondary home market, would continue to open branches to maintain its leading position but at a slower pace, said Lin, a Taiwanese who joined Homelink in 2009.

Founded in 2001 with a team of 27 staff, Homelink's expansion has been on the fast track over the past few years with staff almost doubling to the current 30,000 from 16,600 in 2012.

The realtor expanded to other cities in 2011 and now runs 1,500 branches in eight cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Dalian. It claims a 52 per cent share in its target market.

"This year, we are more focused on the per capita income of our real estate agents," Lin said.