Expert sees soft landing in end to real estate boom

In response, DBS' Leung said transformation needs time. "Many exporters I know said this year is much better than 2013. People have been working on upgrading, though data have said nothing about it. We expect in the second half, at least exports will start to pick up."

Leung quashed worries about a property market meltdown, saying China's mortgages are only 18 percent of its GDP, while that rate was around 100 percent in the US before the financial crisis hit in 2008.

"The Chinese prefer to borrow from friends instead of banks. The US experience is not applicable everywhere," he said.

But he did say that oversupply is as real as such ghost towns as Erdos. "Property prices have started to tip down since the beginning of this year. The consolidation will last for several years. Smaller developers will be squeezed out," he said.

"But the situation in big cities is different from in smaller towns, and so are markets for big and small homes. As long as sales volume rise with prices down, the bubble is unlikely to bust."

Property weakness overhangs recovery	Realty price swings may pose short-term risks