[ET Net News Agency, 30 June 2020] Moody's Investors Service said in a new report that
Chinese property sales grew for the first time this year as developers launched new
projects and the market benefited from the release of pent-up home purchase demand on the
back of easing social-distancing measures.
"The monthly national contracted sales value grew 16.2% in May compared to the same
period last year, a notable improvement from the 2.6% decline recorded in April," said
Celine Yang, a Moody's Assistant Vice President and Analyst.
"But we are cautious about overall growth this year and expect 2020 national sales to be
modestly weaker than 2019, given the sales disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak
at the beginning of the year, weaker economic conditions and the high sales base in 2019,"
added Yang.
In parallel, developers' inventory levels normalized in May from high levels in March as
the monthly sales volume recovered significantly from previous months. But the average
nationwide inventory level in 2020 should remain higher than the historic average, driven
by Moody's expectation for overall weaker sales volume than the supply of new homes.
Rated developers continued to tap the offshore bond markets in June to shore up their
liquidity, with 13 developers issuing a total of US$3.8 billion of offshore bonds in June
(to 24 June), an increase from the US$944 million issued in May.
In contrast, onshore bond issuance by rated developers fell to RMB13.8 billion (US$1.9
billion) in June (to 24 June) from RMB27.1 billion (US$3.8 billion) in May. But Moody's
expects onshore conditions will remain stable for the remainder of 2020 and that rated
developers will continue to tap the market, particularly those with high-quality projects
and history of onshore access. (KL)