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Business as usual for China鈥檚 big developers
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China鈥檚 large developers are tightening their hold on the country鈥檚 real estate market, capturing an ever-larger share even as sales growth is expected to slow and worries about debt persist.
According to US investment bank Citi, the top 10 Chinese developers are forecast to achieve close to 35 percent market share this year, up from around 27 percent now. They held just 14.2 percent of the market in 2012.
The number of developers posting above 50 billion yuan (US$7.7 billion) in sales rose to 40 in 2017 from 25 in 2016, with sales growing from 53 percent to 84 percent, real estate firm CREIS said. The number of smaller developers, with sales between 10 billion and 50 billion yuan, fell to 104 from 106.
Although the total number of home transactions is expected to drop about 5 percent, securities firms and rating agency analysts said Hong Kong-listed developers could see 30 percent sales growth on average this year, down from an average of 40 percent growth in 2017.
But the growth will not be without risk. Ramped-up land purchases mean the developers will add debt, throwing uncertainty into the stated plans of some to deleverage.
China Evergrande and Sunac China had the highest gearing ratios at more than 200 percent in the first half of last year. Both said in October they intended to reduce their debt ratio, but neither halted their buying sprees.
If there is a market correction, developers鈥 liquidity will be tested. But Standard & Poor鈥檚 director Christopher Yip said even in that scenario, he didn鈥檛 see a large impact.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 think there鈥檒l be a big probability for rated developers to be unable to repay their debt other than very weak ones with poor liquidity and refinancing prospects; others should have secured the financing before they buy land,鈥 Yip said.
Several major developers told Reuters that they were confident in double-digit sales growth this year. The companies could not be identified as the information is not yet public.
鈥淟ast year we sold so many flats, we鈥檒l need to replenish; our land acquisition budget has to be larger than last year because our size is also larger,鈥 said a senior executive of a Shanghai-based developer, who declined to be identified as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
A softening but still resilient property market, underpinned by steady prices, would be welcome news for both China鈥檚 policymakers and developers. Beijing is eager to keep the market stable as the government tackles an alarming build-up in debt.
Many investors are overlooking debt risks and focusing more on revenue, as evidenced by surging share prices.
China property stocks were among the best performers in Hong Kong in 2017, propelled by robust sales, with Evergrande up 480 percent, Sunac jumping 460 percent, and Country Garden climbing 270 percent. Nine other developers saw shares surge more than two-fold.
Some analysts questioned whether the expansion rate of China鈥檚 largest developers could be sustained.
鈥淐hina鈥檚 property shares rallied in 2017 thanks to top-line growth, but this momentum will slow in 2018. The growth story this year will be weaker,鈥 said CLSA analyst Nicole Wong. 鈥淟ast year, many sales were from smaller cities, but as liquidity tightens, sales to these cities will be more difficult.鈥
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