Revenue from residential property sales up 12.9%

Residential property sales revenues jumped 12.9 percent to 3.43 trillion yuan ($560 billion) during the first half of the year, helped by further market-easing policies.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, June is the first month with positive growth in realty-related fiscal revenues since the beginning of this year.

Between January and June, a combined 502.64 million square meters of residential space was sold, 3.9 percent higher year-on-year, boosted especially by transactions in the second quarter, particularly June, which saw record sales levels.

Sales from January to March fell by 9.2 percent year-on-year, and 0.2 percent between January and May.

Analysts said based on the findings, the residential property market has obviously benefited since the beginning of the second quarter from relaxed policies such as lower taxes and down-payment requirements, and relaxed administrative curbs, to encourage first-time buyers and existing owners to trade up.

"These improvements in residential conditions have pushed demand for upmarket homes," said a research report from property services provider Colliers International.

"When new supplies of such properties are limited, average prices increase."

The Colliers report said the average price of a high-end property in Shanghai jumped more than 17 percent year-on-year, and it predicted the price may grow another 20 percent in the second half of 2015 compared to the first six months.

According to other data from property services provider Savills Plc, rising average property prices also helped push up sales revenues in China, especially for high-end residential properties.

The NBS data showed combined residential and commercial investment in the property market in the first half reached 4.40 trillion yuan, a 4.6 percent year-on-year rise (and a 5.7 percent rise on a inflation-adjusted basis).

About 67 percent of that was on residential property.

Sheng Laiyun, a spokesman for the NBS, said the real estate sector will continue to help China's overall economic growth.

Analysts said the growth in real estate investment during the half year was slower than in previous years because developers were adjusting their investment portfolios, with some focusing on reducing inventories of existing projects.

Jenny Wu, a researcher with property services provider DTZ, said she expected developers to make more investments in the near future, encouraged by interest rate cuts and other favorable policies, which will boost market confidence.

The NBS data showed there was 657 million square meters of commercial space available in the market at the end of June, a 20.8 percent year-on-year increase.

"A lot of supply needs to be absorbed and developers have realized they need to reduce inventories and keep close tabs on shifting market demands," said Wu.

"We expect the property market in China will continue to warm up in the next half of 2015, but will see rational and stable growth."