China Vanke, the country's biggest property developer by market value, said Friday its sales soared in March as the property market began to warm up.
In a statement filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, China Vanke said it sold 1.1 million square meters of floor area last month, up 52.6% month-on-month and 31.6% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, its sales revenue soared 56.9% month-on-month and 23.5 from the previous year to 11.5 billion yuan (1.8 billion U.S. dollars).
Tan Huajie, China Vanke's board secretary, attributed the sales surge to a low comparison base and easier access to mortgages.
Chinese banks usually have a higher mortgage quota at the beginning of the year. Also they are offering mortgage-rate discounts to woo potential borrowers this year.
The country's developers have recently reported gloomy sales due to tough government curbs, including purchase restrictions, higher lending rates and a ban on mortgage loans for third homes.
In the first quarter of the year, China Vanke sold 3 million square meters in floor area, down 0.95% year-on-year. Its sales revenue fell 12.5% year-on-year to 31.1 billion yuan after the prices on average declined 11.7% to 10,326 yuan per square meter.
China Vanke will roll out more smaller homes and sales promotions to achieve good sales in a tough year, Tan said. The government has repeatedly pledged to continue its controls on the housing market this year to bring down property prices to a reasonable level.
Shares of China Vanke closed 0.24% higher at 8.38 yuan on Friday.
Copyright ©1999-2011 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.