(Bloomberg) -- Some of China’s most closely watched property developers slid by the most in months, after home sales data underscored a worsening real estate slump.
China Vanke Co.’s 3.5% dollar bond due 2029 was down about 5 cents on the dollar on Tuesday at 42.4 cents, the steepest daily decline since March 4.
Other developers also saw deep slumps. A 3.95% dollar bond due 2029 issued by Longfor Group Holdings Ltd. fell by around 2 cents to 65.1 cents, and is poised to touch its lowest price since May, according to Bloomberg compiled data.
Chinese builders are facing relentless pressure from continued declines in property sales and growing worries about their liquidity. Vanke’s contracted sales slid 24% in August from a year earlier, worsening from a 13% drop in July. The sagging sales data followed the company’s first half-year loss in more than two decades.
A Bloomberg index tracking Chinese real estate stocks fell by as much as 5.3% Tuesday morning, the biggest intraday decline since May after some property companies were removed from the China-HK stock connect. Shares of CIFI Holdings Group Co. fell as much as 29%, while Vanke was down as much as 3.1% in Hong Kong.
READ: China Property Shares Plunge After Removal From Stock Connect
“Investors are selling because of the weak property sales data and there’s no sign of stabilization in sight,” said Ting Meng, senior Asia credit strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. “It still needs a while for the industry to recover,” she added.
Earlier this month, S&P Ratings downgraded China Vanke’s long-term rating to BB- from BB+, citing reasons including poor sales and weakened liquidity. The ratings firm expects Vanke’s contracted sales to decline by 35% in 2024 and 18% in 2025.
Despite Chinese regulators’ efforts to jump start the real estate sector, the residential slump continues to deepen. In August, the value of new-home sales from the 100 biggest real estate companies fell about 26.8% from a year earlier to 251 billion yuan ($35.4 billion), according to preliminary data from China Real Estate Information Corp. That compares with a 19.7% decline in July.
“The market has been looking for more decisive policy support towards the property sector, unfortunately this has not been forthcoming,” said Clement Chong, head of fixed income research at Eastspring Investments. “Investors’ confidence around a sustained recovery in the property sector is not very high at the moment,” he added.
(Updates with more details throughout)
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