According to an article published today in the Wall Street Journal:
"Some of China's listed property developers have reported strong results in recent days, signaling robust demand in the crucial real-estate sector that could bolster flagging domestic growth.
China Vanke Co., the country's largest property developer by market value, said Wednesday that sales in September totaled 15.57 billion yuan ($2.54 billion), up 29.3% from the same month a year earlier and up 1.9% from August.
The area sold in September totaled 1.31 million square meters, up from 1.05 million a year earlier though down a bit from August's 1.33 million.
September and October mark the peak season for home purchases.
A day earlier Hong Kong-listed Country Garden Holdings Co. said that it had surpassed its full-year sales target of 62 billion yuan with more than a quarter still to go: As of Sept. 30, sales stood at 64.7 billion yuan. And last week Sunac China , a property developer based in the city of Tianjin, said its September housing sales were up 71% from a year earlier to 36.4 billion yuan, with strength in Shanghai, Chongqing and Hangzhou. Sunac's average selling price per square meter was up 23% from a year earlier, to 20,510 yuan from 16,620 yuan.
Listed property developers in China have posted good housing sales since early this year, underpinned by new launches and strong market sentiment, especially in major cities. After staying on the sidelines in 2011 and 2012, buyers have flocked back to the home market—many driven by concerns that prices will rise out of reach if they delay.
Sales in the January-September period totaled 128.5 billion yuan, Shenzhen-based China Vanke said in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Sales growth is going to be sustainable for some of the larger developers, such as Country Garden, which have ventured into new cities such as Yantai and Nanjing and are gaining market share from competitors, said Nicole Wong , an analyst at CLSA''.
