Housing transactions recover

Real estate transactions in 18 first- and second-tier cities tracked by China Confidential picked up by an average of 2% WoW in the week ending September 23. Transactions in first-tier cities rose 21% WoW, recovering the ground lost in the previous seven day period when volumes fell 11%. Home sales in 21 third- and fourth-tier cities rose 0.42% WoW, having risen 2% during the preceding week. As sales recover from the fall in transaction volumes at the beginning of the month, some cooling measures have been introduced. We believe that these measures, which target the higher end of the market, will have little impact on sales volumes, with most of the recent momentum in the housing sector coming from first-time buyers (CC Sep 20, Capital Intensive China).