Developers’ spending spree on land in Greater Bay Area cities is a show of confidence that will buoy house prices, say analysts
- Home builders forked out US$12.59 billion on land in the first quarter, up 30 per cent from pre-pandemic levels
- They are ‘betting on the future, and thus we see home prices staying expensive there,’ said Yan Yuejin of the E-house China Research and Development Institute
Developers forked out 82.5 billion yuan (US$12.59 billion) to acquire land in the first three months of the year, 40 per cent more than in the same period of 2020, according to data from the China Real Estate Information Corporation (CRIC). It is the highest amount spent on land there since 2014.
Even comparing the total value sold this year with the same period in 2019, before Covid-19 struck, there was a 30 per cent jump.
“Developers are actively laying out their business in the region, betting on the future, and thus we see land sales continuing to be hot and home prices staying expensive there,” said Yan Yuejin, director of the Shanghai-based E-house China Research and Development Institute.
And in early January, deputy housing minister Ni Hong visited Shenzhen to inspect the local housing market, reminding officials there that “a home is for living in, not just for speculation”, a mantra attributed to the President Xi Jinping.
