Shanghai-based developer Glorious Property said it is cautious on the outlook for late-2010 sales, following the harsh measures introduced by the government in an attempt to rein in the red-hot property market.
Glorious Property logged contracted sales of 4.2 billion yuan (S$862 million) in H1 2010, an increase of about a third over the same period last year, according to the company’s senior executives. In June alone, contracted sales rose to 890 million yuan from 220 million yuan in May, with the remainder of the year facing many uncertainties, they said.
“We are quite cautious about the second half. We’ll mainly be monitoring property policies – whether the government adopts a tightening or loosening attitude,” said Cheng Lixiong, chief executive of the company.
In mid-April, China unveiled a series of measures to tighten the property market, which included raising downpayments for first-time homebuyers purchasing large apartments, and raising mortgage rates and minimum downpayments for second home loans.
In May, urban property prices climbed an annual 12.4 percent, easing from April when prices climbed at a record rate, government data revealed. Prices in May were up 0.2 percent compared with April prices.
The tightening property measures, along with the European debt crisis, have also prompted Glorious Property to postpone its plans to issue a dollar bond. “The debt market is too volatile now. We feel that it’s not the right time to issue the bonds because of demand uncertainty and the costs of issuing,” said Mr. Cheng.