(Bloomberg) — Chinese property stocks have slid back to levels seen before a raft of stimulus measures from the authorities in September 2024 drove a market turnaround, underscoring lingering pessimism over the sector.
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A Bloomberg Intelligence gauge of Chinese developer shares fell as much as 3% on Tuesday, extending losses after data showed a faster decline in home prices. Sunac China Holdings Ltd. dropped 7.2%, while Shimao Group Holdings Ltd. lost 4.4%.
The slump shows how investor appetite for old-economy sectors has waned as capital shifts toward technology and semiconductor stocks tied to the artificial intelligence buildout. The policy blitz in 2024, when authorities pulled out all stops to revive the economy, ignited a monumental rally that’s kept most major benchmarks still trading above their 2024 highs.
READ: China Home Prices Fall at Faster Pace in Setback to Revival
Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics Tuesday showed new-home prices in 70 cities, excluding state-subsidized housing, dropped 0.2% from April when they slid 0.19%. While analysts at firms including Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. have begun to assert that the sector is finally stabilizing, others have remained doubtful.
The property gauge has fallen nearly 14% this year while the Star 50 Index, which has chipmakers as its members, gained 30%.
“We’ve seen notable improvement in both m/m and y/y home price trends in higher-tier cities in May, but prices in lower-tier cities remain under pressure,” said Jeff Zhang, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. Zhang added that the divergence between higher- and lower-tier cities will persist, with nationwide new home prices unlikely to bottom out before 2027.
Morgan Stanley analysts expect secondary home sales to turn negative in the third quarter, and suggests investors stay selective. The industry’s risk still outweighs reward despite a near 20% pullback in share prices since May, they wrote.
With half-year results approaching, investors are focused on whether developers’ earnings can stabilize. China Vanke Co. reported a net loss of around 6 billion yuan ($887 million) in the first quarter, highlighting deepening stress among the sector’s major players. Other developers including Gemdale Corp. also saw steep losses.