Property to take less of the GDP load
Investment in real estate is seen easing back from role as a driver of growth on the mainland amid demand doubts and economic transition
Property investment will be less of a driver for the broader mainland economy this year, despite the central government's strong urbanisation push, economists said.
Property investment accounted for 15.8 per cent of the mainland's gross domestic product in the first three quarters of last year, a record high and a big jump from the 5 per cent contribution in 2000.
The ratio has stayed above 10 per cent since 2009 and the industry, which affects more than 40 other sectors including metals and home appliances, has stood out and provided a cushion to slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.
"The property sector will remain a bright spot in the Chinese economy in 2014, but be a weaker driver," said Qi Jingmei, a senior researcher at the State Information Centre, a top government think tank in Beijing.
That is an outcome of changes within the property sector as well as the mainland's efforts to rebalance its economy to rely more on consumption rather than investment.
The peak of China’s property investment growth has passed
Economists have long argued that the mainland's frothy real estate sector, with fat, albeit narrowing profit margins, attracts too much cash and hinders the development of industries that could help the economy move up the global value chain.