China Property Sales May See Wider Declines In September And October, Analyst Says

China's property market may not see the usual September-October rebound after the shift from presale to completed-home sales, according to Ming Pao. Lin Bo, general manager of the Pru Property Research Center, said the market had initially expected a clear month-on-month recovery in September and October because supply in July and August was at a low level and the year-on-year decline was expected to narrow further. He said the rollout of completed-home sales, which requires structural topping-out before presales can begin, means some projects that could previously obtain presale permits may no longer be able to do so. Even projects that have already obtained land-planning approval must still wait until structural topping-out, so market expectations need to be revised. Lin said year-on-year sales declines in September and October are now more likely to widen.