Property developer China Vanke is expecting a modest recovery in the real estate market, with its chairman saying the bottom has been reached after months of tumult.
Yu Liang, head of China’s second-largest developer, said he had experienced the most pressure in his career during 2022.
His comments helped to drive up the CSI Real Estate Index 6%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index rose more than 1%.
Speaking at China Vanke’s annual general meeting, Yu said he foresaw some recovery in the secondary housing market in June, with 50% of first and second-tier cities recording higher asking prices.
On sales, Yu said: “In June, from the situation so far, I think there would be a relatively obvious rise month-on-month.”
ALSO SEE: China, India Positive on G7 Plan to Cap Russian Oil Price
Easing Measures
The recovery had been helped by easing measures from the central and local governments, and partly boosted by pent-up demand following months of coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions, he said.
Authorities are scrambling to boost weak demand after a fall in sales in recent months, depressed by tight Covid-19 curbs and a slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy.
Official data showed property sales by floor area in the first five months fell 23.6% from a year earlier, although the pace of the fall slowed in May for the first time in three months.
“The market in the short term has bottomed. I didn’t use [the word] ‘rebounded’, but rather ‘recovered’. A recovery will still take time,” Yu said.
China Vanke’s Shenzhen-listed shares rose over 6%, while its Hong Kong-listed shares gained 4%. Property management shares also firmed, with China Overseas Property Holdings and Sunac Services Holdings both up over 6%.
- Reuters, with additional editing by George Russell
READ MORE:
China Vanke Expects Profit to Stabilise After Property Slump
China’s Property ‘Golden Age’ Is Over Says Vanke Chief: SCMP
China Developers Speed up Diversification After Debt Crisis
