Real estate investment in China rose by 21.6% to CNY4.02 trillion during the first four months of the year from a year ago, official data showed. Nearly CNY3.02 trillion of the total was used for residential development, up 24.4% on a yearly basis, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Property investment growth slowed down during the four months compared to an increase of 25.6% in the first three months. Property sales from January to April grew by 48.1% on a yearly basis in terms of floor area, slowing from a 63.8% rise in the first quarter of the year. Home sales grew 51.1% and 73.2% on a yearly basis in terms of gross floor area and sales revenue, both of which were relatively lower than the 68.1% and 95.5% seen in the first quarter, respectively, according to NBS data.
The slower investment data and sales figures are due to curbs on the property market as well as a seasonal slowdown, said Pan Hao, Senior Analyst with the Beike Research Institute. Since the beginning of this year, cities like Dongguan in Guangdong province, Jiaxing and Ningbo in Zhejiang province, Nanjing in Jiangsu province, Hefei in Anhui province, Guangzhou in Guangdong province and Chengdu in Sichuan province have announced various policies, including purchase restrictions, price caps, lucky draws for home purchase, and pre-sales management, which have effectively stabilized local home prices, said Pan. The rapid economic recovery from Covid-19 has buoyed demand for new homes in China, and property developers are becoming more active in terms of land acquisition, said Zhang Dawei, Chief Analyst at Centaline Property Agency.
In April, new home prices in the 70 major cities tracked by the NBS rose by 0.5% on a monthly basis and by 4.4% on a yearly basis. “Although most of the major cities had announced restrictions on home purchases, prices continued edging up in April, showing the necessity for local governments to react more spontaneously when surge signs appear,” said Yan Yuejin, Director of the Shanghai-based E-house China Research and Development Institution. Of the 70 cities, 62 saw growth in new home prices, three cities reported no change, while five posted declines. New home prices in the four first-tier cities rose by 0.6% on a monthly basis, with Guangzhou taking the lead with 1.1% growth, followed by Beijing with 0.6%, Shenzhen with 0.5% and Shanghai with 0.3%. Compared to a year ago, the four top-tier cities saw a 5.8% growth in new home prices. The 31 second-tier cities monitored by the NBS saw prices increase by 0.6% on a monthly basis, and by 4.9% on a yearly basis, while the figures were 0.4% and 3.9% for 35 third-tier cities. In the pre-owned home market, first-tier cities continued to take the lead in price gains. Compared with March, prices of pre-owned homes in the top-tier cities rose by 0.8% on average, and witnessed an 11.3% growth on a yearly basis, the China Daily reports.
