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New home prices in October dropped 0.3% month-on-month after a 0.2% dip in September, according to Reuters calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data. Once a key engine of economic growth accounting for around a quarter of China's economic activity, a regulatory crackdown since 2020 to curb debt has tightened liquidity and raised default risks for developers, delaying many projects. Out of 70 cities, 56 reported declines in monthly prices last month, marking the most cities number since October 2020, up from 54 in September. TWIST AND TURNSHouse prices in three major cities Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou all fell month-on-month in October. For existing home, NBS data showed 67 cities posted month-on-month price declines in October, up from 65 in September.

Persons: Ma Hong, Ma, Liu Aihua, Zhang Dawei, Zhang, Liangping Gao, Ella Cao, Ryan Woo, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: National Bureau of Statistics, Authorities, Zhixin Investment Research Institute, Nomura, HK, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou

☆ Ping An loses $2.1 billion in market value, China property rallies on Country Garden rescue report
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Company logo of Ping An Insurance Group is shown at a news conference following the company's announcement of its annual results in Hong Kong, China March 16, 2016. Ping An's Hong Kong-listed shares tumbled 5.4%, their sharpest daily fall in more than a year, wiping out almost $2.1 billion in market capitalisation. "Such a move should mitigate or control the risks in the market," said Lu Wenxi, analyst at property agency Centaline. "This move is a big boost to market confidence, because now the whole real estate market, especially some major real estate enterprises are under pretty big pressure, and their bankruptcy risks triggering a chain reaction." Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree in Hong Kong.

Persons: Bobby Yip, Ping, Lu Wenxi, Anne Marie Roantree, Tom Westbrook, Edmund Klamann, Kim Coghill Organizations: Ping An Insurance, REUTERS, Ping, Ping An Insurance Group, Reuters, HK, Ping An, China, Sunac China Holdings, Wanda, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, China, HONG KONG, Singapore

☆ Reaction to Reuters report on potential Ping An rescue of Country Garden
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

EUGENE LAW, DIRECTOR OF CHINA GALAXY INTERNATIONAL:"If the central government steps in to help Country Garden, it's for easing the debt crisis and preventing a spillover to financial institutions. But it will not help the China property market, which depends on factors, including employment and consumer confidence. Homebuyers would not rush to buy property just because Country Garden gets out of trouble. For the broader property market, the key is still home sales." Country Garden may have reached a tipping point where it will need more liquidity to fulfill such a policy goal.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, Ping, EUGENE LAW, Homebuyers, MICHAEL WONG, XU TIANCHEN, YAO, homebuyers, GARY NG, Clare Jim, Anne Marie Roantree, Edwina Gibbs, Kim Coghill Organizations: Ping An Insurance, REUTERS, Ping An Insurance Group, HK, Reuters, LU, OF CHINA GALAXY, Garden, Central Financial Work Conference, Thomson Locations: Shenzhen, China, HONG KONG

Much of the easing policies have lowered the buying costs, but done little to create new demand, realtor Centaline China CEO Andy Lee said. "The overall size of the pie is still the same," Lee said, referring to the market demand, adding some of the September purchase was delayed from the previous two months due to market expectations of stimulus policies. Nomura also said it is too early to call the bottom for the property sector. The moderate recovery in top-tier cities could continue to drain housing demand in low-tier cities," it said. S&P Global Ratings this week revised down its forecast for China's property sales to drop by 10%-15% this year from 2022, compared to its earlier forecast of a mid-single digit percentage drop.

Persons: Daniel Song, Andy Lee, Lee, Nomura, Doris Dong, Clare Jim, Gao, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: China Evergrande, HK, Demand, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, BEIJING, Beijing, Shenzhen, China, Shanghai, Guangzhou

☆ Centaline says mainland China unit has 'huge' unpaid developers' commissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A sign of Centaline Property is pictured at the company's office in Tianjin, China August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Centaline Property has said its mainland China unit is owed a huge amount of unpaid commissions and so it cannot pay employees their commissions, responding to reports of delayed payments to the unit by developers including the embattled Evergrande. The Hong Kong property agency's mainland arm, Centaline Property Agency (Shenzhen), has not recovered some commission fees as property developers grapple with the debt crisis and liquidity crunch, Centaline said in a statement on Friday. "The current amount of unpaid commissions from developers and agents is huge and Centaline Property is not in a position to advance them to its employees," the company said. The Shenzhen unit has paid fixed salaries up to July, Centaline said, adding that all of units were operating normally and it would not withdraw from the mainland China market.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Centaline, Liu Tianyang, Ella Cao, Ryan Woo, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Centaline Property Agency, Securities Times, Thomson Locations: Tianjin, China, Rights BEIJING, Hong Kong, Shenzhen

[1/5] Workers walk out of a construction site of residential buildings by Chinese developer Country Garden, in Tianjin, China August 18, 2023. Both sites are run by Country Garden, China's largest developer by sales volume before this year, now mired in a debt crisis threatening to spill over to the wider economy. Once considered one of the more financially sound developers, Country Garden is now a bellwether of how the cycle has turned for developers. Country Garden built its success by quickly selling a large number of units for low margins and by promising "five-star living" in less popular, smaller cities. Tianjin has about a dozen Country Garden projects, with the majority finished and delivered, said Gao Fei, investment advisory manager at the Tianjin branch of Centaline Property Agency.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Wang, Wei, Gao Fei, Gao, Laurie Chen, Clare Jim, Sumeet Chatterjee, Sonali Paul Organizations: Workers, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Construction, Nomura, Centaline Property Agency, Thomson Locations: Tianjin, China, Rights TIANJIN, HK, Beijing, Shenyang Tengyue, Centaline, Hong Kong

☆ China's home prices rise at slower pace as demand ebbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary April new home prices +0.4% m/m vs +0.5% m/m in MarchApril prices -0.2% y/y vs -0.8% y/y in MarchMore policy stimulus may be needed, analysts sayBEIJING, May 17 (Reuters) - China's new home prices rose for the fourth straight month in April but at a slower pace, heightening fears that pent-up demand after the country's economic reopening is fading. New home prices in April rose 0.4% month-on-month versus a 0.5% gain in March, according to Reuters calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data on Wednesday. Beijing's aggressive stimulus policies to the crisis-hit property sector since November have boosted sentiment over the past few months but homebuyers are increasingly worried about job security. Home prices in tier-two and three cities also rose at a slower pace in April. April money and credit data last week suggested growth of households' medium-to-long term loans, mostly mortgages, decelerated in April, in line with slower property transactions.

☆ Chinese property brokers need to reduce fees, regulator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, May 8 (Reuters) - Chinese real estate brokerage agencies need to implement reasonable reductions to fees for housing transactions and leasing services to promote healthy development of the sector, the housing regulator said on Monday. Some real estate brokers in recent years "have charged excessive, unclear and bound fees, and misused clients' personal information, which has increased the burden on parties to transactions and infringed their legal rights", the regulator said in a notice. Real estate brokers must not abuse a dominant market position to charge unfairly high prices for broking services. The industry has grown increasingly important, with large numbers of property transactions relying on real estate agencies, said analyst Zhang Dawei at property company Centaline, adding that some agents are taking advantage of their scale to increase fees. However, it is a guiding document; the specific impact on the market will depend on implementation by each city," Zhang said.

☆ China's Dec home prices fall, more supportive policies likely
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Analysts say the property sector is showing signs of recovery, but it remains uneven and more supportive policies are needed to revive sentiment in the battered market. From a year earlier, prices fell for the eighth month in a row, dropping 1.5% from a 1.6% slump in November. Prices in tier-one cities remained unchanged from a month earlier in December from a decline of 0.2% in November. To relax restrictions on borrowing for property developers, regulators will improve the "three red lines" rule for 30 pilot firms, state media Xinhua reported last week. The policy restricts the amount of new borrowing property developers can raise each year by placing caps on their debt ratios.

REUTERS/Tingshu WangSummary Sept new home prices fall 0.2% m/m, down for second monthNew home prices down 1.5% y/y, fastest pace since Aug 201554 cities out of 70 report price declinesBEIJING, Oct 24 (Reuters) - China's September new home prices fell for the second straight month as mortgage boycotts, a heightened debt crisis and COVID-19 curbs weighed on homebuyers' sentiment. China's property sector has been beset by multiple headwinds after regulators clamped down on excessive borrowing since mid-2020. In monthly terms, new home prices in tier-two cities fell 0.2% and declined 0.4% in tier-three cities. Property investment fell 12.1% from a year earlier, slightly narrowing from a 13.8% fall in August. "There is little room to give more help to real estate property developers as doing so will risk the credibility of government reform (for property developers, that means the deleveraging reform)," said Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING.

☆ China new home prices fall for second month in September
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Tingshu WangSummary Sept new home prices fall 0.2% m/m, down for second monthNew home prices down 1.5% y/y, fastest pace since Aug 201554 cities out of 70 report price declinesBEIJING, Oct 24 (Reuters) - China's new home prices fell for the second straight month in September, as its property sector grappled with a mortgage boycott, a heightened debt crisis and COVID-19 restrictions that dimmed the economic outlook. China's property sector has been beset by multiple headwinds after regulators clamped down on excessive borrowing since mid-2020. Property investment fell 12.1% from a year earlier, slightly narrowing from a 13.8% fall in August. China reiterated its "housing is for living, but not for speculation" in the full work report of the Communist Party Congress. Analysts from Nomura said in a note that a comprehensive solution to the property sector might not be introduced until after March 2023, when Beijing's political reshuffle is fully completed.

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