Sales at China's Top 100 Builders Fall at Slower Pace in First Half

(Yicai) July 2 -- China's top 100 property developers saw their sales continue to shrink in the first half of this year but at a slower pace, with the country's property market remaining in a sluggish state despite some signs of recovery in core cities.

The top 100 builders raked in CNY1.6 trillion (USD233.8 billion) of sales in the six months ended June 30, down 13.6 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by the China Index Academy yesterday. However, the decline narrowed from 14.9 percent in the January to May period, shrinking for the fourth consecutive month.

Only three of the top 100 developers saw sales of over CNY100 billion (USD14.7 billion) in the first half, with Poly Developments and Holdings Group at CNY135.1 billion, China Overseas Land & Investment at CNY134.3 billion, and China Resources Land at CNY116.5 billion.

China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings at CNY96.1 billion (USD14.2 billion) and Greentown China Holdings at CNY94.7 billion round up the top five, the data showed. C&D Real Estate raked in CNY63.8 billion to rank sixth, while China Vanke remained 10th with CNY35 billion.

Only 34 developers exceeded CNY10 billion in sales. In comparison, four developers reported sales of more than CNY100 billion a year earlier, while 46 saw the figure top CNY10 billion.

Sales at Beijing Urban Construction Group and Lianfa Group grew over 20 percent in the first half of this year from a year ago, while those at China Overseas Land & Investment, China Merchants Shekou, and China Jinmao Holdings Group climbed more than 10 percent. These developers share a common characteristic where most of the projects were concentrated in core cities, particularly first-tier cities, effectively supporting their inventory reduction capabilities.

Almost 46 percent of the top 20 developers' revenue came from first-tier cities in the first half, up from about 40 percent a year earlier. In addition, the share from second-tier cities was nearly 45 percent, highlighting that core cities have become their primary source of income.

Poly Developments, China Resources Land, China Merchants Shekou, and six other of the top 20 reported that revenue from first-tier cities accounted for more than half of their total.

More relaxed real estate policies have led to a noticeable recovery in demand for high-end projects in core cities, prompting leading developers to focus their new land acquisitions on prime locations in first-tier cities, boosting their relevant revenue share and also increasing the proportion of income derived from high-end projects, the China Index Academy said.

The top 20 developers saw high-end residential units larger than 200 square meters make up 25 percent of their income in the first half, up from around 14 percent a year ago. Standard residential units with an area of 90 to 140 sqm accounted for 41 percent of sales, down from 46 percent, but remaining the dominant product.

Due to the low base a year earlier, the year-on-year decline in new home sales will likely further narrow in the second half of this year, the China Index Academy noted. The increased supply of high-end properties has brought vitality to the recovery of the real estate market, but overall market stabilization still needs time.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev