HONG KONG: China’s deeply troubled property sector is set to see home sales fall for the second straight year in 2023, but the pace of declines will ease thanks to state support measures and the lifting of the government’s strict anti-COVID policies.
Property sales are expected to slip by a median of 8 per cent this year, a Reuters survey of eight economists and analysts showed, compared to a slump of around 25 per cent in 2022, as economic activity, household income and consumer confidence are seen rebounding in the second half.
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Economists and analysts believe policymakers will roll out more support measures to stimulate home demand this year, as part of Beijing’s overall goal to bolster the US$17-trillion economy after a sharp COVID-induced downturn in 2022.
Those policies could include further lowering of mortgage borrowing rates and down-payment requirements, as well as relaxing home purchase restrictions in top-tier Chinese cities, they added.
Hopes of a pickup in the economy later this year have been fuelled by China’s dismantling in December of its stringent zero-COVID policy, which likely dragged GDP growth down to just 3 per cent last year, one of its worst years in almost half a century.
But the reversal has triggered a wave of COVID-19 infections, which are expected to cause further economic disruptions and strain households for at least a few more months.
Source: Reuter
