Credit Suisse noted that an increasing number
of tier 2 cities reintroducing cooling measures, mainly due to rising ASPs. While most are still loose, the research house believes all developers should be well-prepared for any possible tightening across the country.
CS continues to view positive free cash flow as key to share price outperformance.
It said Nanjing became the fourth tier 2 city (after Suzhou, Xiamen and Hangzhou) to reintroduce the home-purchase restrictions. Local residents with two apartments and non-local residents with one apartment are not allowed to buy any extra unit.
CS said China property sector has had a strong run over the past 2-3 weeks as developers reported encouraging presales. However, CS believes the rally should not be sustainable, given some developers' aggressive expansions that result in negative sector free cash flow on aggregate.