Developers set to beat yearly goals

Visitors inspect property models at a housing fair in Changsha in September. [Photo / Provided to China Daily]

Major developers are on track to reach their annual sales targets ahead of schedule and rack up new full-year records, analysts have forecast.

The outlook is based on figures for the first nine months of the year reported by 30 leading property companies, which generated an aggregate 917.6 billion yuan ($150.5 billion) in sales, according to figures published in the Securities Daily.

China Vanke Co Ltd and Greenland Group achieved 100 billion yuan in revenue during the January-September period.

Shui On Land Ltd saw the largest revenue surge - 239.7 percent - followed by Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd with 119-percent growth.

In terms of absolute value, Vanke took the lead with 127.9 billion yuan, followed by Greenland with 101.2 billion yuan, China Overseas Land and Investment Ltd with 90 billion yuan and Poly Real Estate Group Co Ltd with 89.55 billion yuan, according to the China Real Estate Information Corp.

In the first nine months, the top 10 developers by revenue held a 14.4-percent market share, up from 14 percent a year earlier, according to the CRIC report.

Leading developers are expanding their market share on the strength of professional operations and flexible market strategies, leading to greater industrial concentration, said Lin Bo, deputy general manager at the CRIC research center.

Major developers have met more than 70 percent of their annual sales goals so far, with Country Garden Holdings and China Overseas Land almost reaching their full-year goals.

Zhang Hongwei, research director of Shanghai-based property consultancy ToSpur, estimated that major developers' sales revenue will grow 20 to 30 percent this year. Seven companies are likely to achieve sales exceeding 100 billion yuan, against three last year.

"Big names including Poly, Evergrande, China Overseas, Country Garden Holdings and others will be on the list," said Zhang.

New home prices in the 10 biggest cities rose 13.87 percent year-on-year to 18,179 yuan per square meter in September, extending the gaining streak to 11 months, according to the latest report from the China Index Academy, the research arm of Soufun, China's largest property website.

Beijing saw the biggest month-on-month property price rise of 3.75 percent, followed by Shenzhen, which posted a 3.15-percent month-on-month gain. Price increases in Guangzhou and Shanghai stayed between 1 and 1.5 percent.

With the traditional high season for residential sales coming up, and with some cities scheduled to host housing fairs in October, international real estate service provider CBRE anticipates more upgrading demand in the fourth quarter.

It said that the possible extension of property taxes into new markets is pushing up price expectations. The expansion of the property tax net is also likely to accelerate purchasing plans by first-time buyers and upgraders, adding further pressure on the market.