Land sales surge in first-tier cities

By ZHENG YANGPENG (China Daily) Updated: 2014-12-26 03:54

A mother with her daughter examine a property project model in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, Aug 17, 2014. [Photo/IC]

Combined residential land sales in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen hit 333.6 billion yuan in the year, according to Centaline.

Many in the industry, including the outspoken Ren Zhiqiang, former CEO of property development company Beijing Huayuan Group, now expect the rise in land prices to push up home prices next year.

Ren told a recent property forum: "How can you expect the prices of houses to come down while land prices are soaring?"

Over 50% of Chinese worried by 'too high' house prices

More than half of Chinese citizens surveyed said homes were too expensive for them, in the latest national poll by the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

The survey showed that 58.8 percent of 20,000 people surveyed in 50 cities believe current home prices were "too high to accept" in the fourth quarter, down 0.7 percentage point from the previous quarter.

The property market cooled in 2014, with authorities loosening controls on purchases, mortgage rules and interest rates to avoid an even sharper slowdown. Home prices - especially in large cities - are still too high for most new graduates.

In the fourth quarter, potential "savers" still outnumbered potential "investors" by 44.9 percent to 36.4 percent, but those who expected to invest more rose by 0.4 percentage point while savers fell 1.1 percentage points respectively from the previous quarter.

The most popular investments remained wealth management products, bonds and the manufacturing industry. Properties have lost luster as an investment tool.

Overseas property ventures expected to enjoy robust growth

Investment from China in overseas property markets is expected to grow by 20 percent annually on average through 2020, when it will stand at about $50 billion per year, as market-oriented reforms encourage companies to explore opportunities abroad.

The figure is comparable to what United States-based investors have put into overseas real estate markets over the past few years, according to Savills Plc, an international real estate adviser.