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RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHGH #0291/01 1820546
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 010546Z JUL 09
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8089
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2920
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 2091
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0548
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 2259
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 0075
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0486
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 8736
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 2082
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 0273
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 1877
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0695

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 SHANGHAI 000291 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM, DAS DAVIES 
TREASURY FOR OASIA/INA -- DOHNER/HAARSAGER/WINSHIP 
TREASURY FOR IMFP -- SOBEL/CUSHMAN 
USDOC FOR ITA DAS KASOFF, MELCHER, MAC/OCEA 
NSC FOR LOI, SHRIER 
STATE PASS CEA FOR BLOCK 
STATE PASS USTR FOR STRATFORD/WINTER/MCCARTIN/KATZ/MAIN 
STATE PASS CFTC FOR OIA/GORLICK 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CH ECON EFIN EINV ELAB PGOV SOCI
SUBJECT: HOUSEHOLDS LOOKING AT REAL ESTATE PURCHASES, BUT GROWTH 
STILL LAGS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Chinese households in cities across China 
began to show renewed interest in residential property during 
the first four months of 2009, but the boost this gives to the 
economy is limited because developers are still running down 
their housing inventory.  Speculators, who drove investment and 
purchases on the high-priced end of the market, appear to still 
be mostly waiting on the sidelines.  Developers, too, are 
cautious of overbuilding in the current environment, and have 
used the uptick in demand to finish delayed projects and run 
down their inventory.  As a result, fewer construction workers 
are needed, although so far the overall situation is not worse 
than previous years, say our NGO contacts.  Furthermore, a 
prolonged downturn would begin to impact banks, which are more 
dependent on the sector than the data suggests.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) This is the first of two cables on China's real estate 
sector in the first four months of 2009.  The cables are the 
result of collaboration across the China Mission, with input and 
clearances from Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Shanghai. 
EconOffs in those posts spoke with contacts over a period of 
several weeks in March-May 2009.  This cable focuses on real 
estate sector trends--especially among households--and the 
impact on property developers and banks.  Septel will focus on 
the Chinese government response to troubles in the real estate 
sector. 
 
============================ 
Housing purchases are up . . . 
============================ 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Residential real estate trading volume in the first 
few months of the year has largely bounced back across China, 
leading our contacts throughout China to be more optimistic 
about the real estate market.  According to a senior contact in 
the NYSE-listed E-House real estate firm speaking in mid May, 
trading volume for properties in almost all major Chinese cities 
returned to normal levels over the course of January-April.  He 
added that most of the increased buying volume is occurring at 
the low- and medium-priced end of the market, with smaller 
increases on the high-priced end.  (Note:  E-House's proprietary 
data system, known as China Real Estate Information Circle or 
CRIC, covers 40 cities, including most provincial capitals.  End 
note.)  The general manager at a US-Chinese manufacturing joint 
venture in the Chengdu Consular District noted an uptick in the 
housing market following the Lunar New Year in late January, 
with people who were waiting for prices to bottom out now 
feeling it is time to buy.  In Guangzhou, property developer 
Evergrande--one of the top ten real estate firms in China--said 
that their sales in the first quarter of 2009 have been better 
than during the same period last year, and shared the view of 
other property developer contacts in the region who anticipated 
that the upward trend would continue this year. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Real estate professionals and government officials 
alike point to the strong demand that will continue to drive the 
housing market, including: 
  - In Beijing, demand from recent university graduates moving 
to Beijing or parents seeking to put their children in Beijing 
schools, according to a contact from Regal Lloyds Real Estate. 
 - In Chengdu, demand from low- and medium-income buyers, about 
evenly split between people from Chengdu and immigrants--80 
percent of whom come from elsewhere in Sichuan, according to the 
Chengdu Housing Management Administration (CHMA).  CHMA further 
notes that the uptick is a natural correction from 2008, when 
short-term downward pressures included correcting overheated 
demand in 2007 as well as the impact of the earthquake and the 
global financial crisis on consumer demand. 
 - In Shanghai, demand from households relocated from rundown 
districts, newlyweds, and immigrants, according to an official 
 
SHANGHAI 00000291  002 OF 006 
 
 
with the Shanghai Municipal Urban-Rural Construction and 
Transportation Committee.  Also, people are seeking a hedge 
against inflation, said a top Citibank official. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Our contacts varied on the prospects of the retail and 
commercial property markets, however.  One contact whose company 
operates China-wide told Guangzhou EconOff that commercial 
transactions were largely unaffected by the downturn, while 
another who focuses on South China said that both residential 
and commercial were affected equally, only that residential 
showed the effects more quickly.  Beijing EconOff's contact at 
Regal Lloyds confirmed that the city has a large supply of empty 
office space--although not on Financial Street or in the 
Zhongguancun high-tech zone.  A CBRE Shanghai contact in March 
said that commercial office space was likely to remain at a 30 
percent vacancy rate through 2013, given the overbuild in the 
Lujiazui financial district, and that retail space would have a 
5 percent to 10 percent vacancy rate through 2011.  In 
Chongqing, commercial real estate turnover was lagging far 
behind that of booming residential turnover in February and 
March. 
 
============================ 
. . . but some question the numbers 
============================ 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Some of our contacts see evidence of real estate 
developers using fake mortgages and fake pre-sales to "make up" 
the recovery.  A Chinese Academy of Social Sciences scholar told 
EmbOffs that housing pre-sales--which could be manipulated by 
sellers to suggest heightened buyer interest--were on the rise 
in Beijing at the beginning of 2009.  Fake mortgages are another 
problem, in which developers arrange for family and friends to 
snap up units in a new building, and will then take them back at 
a later date.  The scholar heard a rumor that in Shenzhen there 
was a case involving fake mortgages for 400 apartments, and said 
he has heard similar stories about the housing market in 
Beijing.  An industry expert from the Beijing-based Soufun 
Holdings also speculated that sellers are falsifying sales to 
create a "buying environment" to help with market recovery. 
However, he did not think it was an endemic problem, and 
speculated that just a few people are doing this in Beijing.  In 
Guangzhou, a major real estate investor told EconOff that the 
slight increase in prices was due more to manipulation by the 
real estate companies than an actual recovery. 
 
============================ 
Speculators cautious for now . . . 
============================ 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Our contacts generally paint a picture of reduced 
interest from domestic and foreign real estate speculators.  For 
instance, says a Guangdong real estate consultant, large foreign 
companies have been increasingly cautious about investing in 
South China, especially when compared with 2007.  In Chengdu, 
there are some international buyers--e.g., from Hong Kong, the 
Philippines, and Taiwan--but overall domestic and foreign 
investors currently account for less than 10 percent of the 
demand, the proportion that existed before the spike to nearly 
25 percent in 2007, according to CHMA.  On the other hand, there 
are some indications of renewed interest in some areas.  Since 
March, some Hong Kong investors have been on the lookout for 
cheap properties in Chongqing, according to an investment 
manager at a large local real estate agency.  And in South 
China, small- and medium-size enterprises have been more active 
in seeking out distressed properties, according to a consultant 
contact there. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Trends in the sources of funds for real estate support 
 
SHANGHAI 00000291  003 OF 006 
 
 
this picture, according to data from the first five months of 
2009 compiled by Standard Chartered Bank and CEIC.  Overall real 
estate investment increased 16 percent compared with the same 
period in 2008.  Of this, deposits and advance payments were up 
17 percent--indicating increased buyer interest, especially 
given that the same indicator fell by 13 percent in 2008-- bank 
loans were up 16 percent, and self-raised capital was up 11 
percent.  But foreign investment--an indicator of speculator 
interest--was down 9 percent. 
 
============================ 
. . . and developers are running down inventory 
============================ 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Nationally, according to E-House data, builders are 
reluctant to start new construction projects, and instead are 
focusing on selling off properties already under construction. 
The contact cites the National Bureau of Statistics' Developers 
Real Estate Sentiment--which hit a low of 94.74 in March and 
stayed at 94.76 in April--to indicate that developers may see 
the bottom of the market, but are not yet in an expansionary 
mood.  (Note:  The index in May again rebounded slightly, 
reaching 95.94.  A level of 100 in the index indicates positive 
market sentiment.  End note.) 
 
¶10.  (SBU) In Beijing, for example, investment in residential, 
office, and commercial real estate has hit all-time lows, with 
the sharpest decline in residential real estate, which fell from 
a high of 36.6 percent year over year growth in June 2008 to 
almost no growth in February 2009.  The situation is similar in 
Chengdu, where new housing construction was down in the first 
quarter by 58 percent compared to same period last year, 
according to the Sichuan Statistics Bureau.  While overall fixed 
asset investment in Chengdu was up 29.5 percent in 2008 over the 
previous year, investment in real estate was up only 7.8 
percent.  As a result, real estate investment as a proportion of 
fixed-asset investment in Chengdu has gone down by 3.8 
percentage points.  (Comment:  The sharply slowing growth of 
real estate investment in the first quarter is a drag on the 
Central Government's efforts to reach 8 percent growth in 2009, 
despite the signs of consumer interest in purchasing homes.  End 
comment.) 
 
============================ 
Slowdown hits construction workers 
============================ 
 
¶11.  (SBU) According to two Beijing-based migrant worker NGOs, 
construction workers, along with workers in export-oriented 
factories, are the two groups most affected by the late 2008 
downturn in the job market.  In addition, the NGOs tell EconOffs 
that wage arrears problems are up again, after declining 
steadily for a few years.  Despite this, experts say there were 
fewer complaints from migrant workers in the construction 
industry over the wage payment issue in 2008, and thanks to the 
Olympic Games, the government has been paying close attention to 
the wage problems for migrant workers since last year. 
(Comment:  This is mostly due to fear of collective unrest by 
the workers. End comment.)  With so many projects currently 
suspended, there are still many migrants who were not fully 
paid, and some not paid at all, in late 2008.  In sum, project 
suspensions have forced many construction migrant workers to 
stop working, and most of them had to return home earlier than 
ever, with only a portion of the promised annual wage, and, for 
some, only a small stipend.  (Note: Despite this bleak picture, 
both NGOs say that the overall situation has not worsened from 
past years. End note.) 
 
¶12.  (SBU) That said, some factors may be limiting the impact on 
 
SHANGHAI 00000291  004 OF 006 
 
 
workers.  In Sichuan, quake reconstruction is creating strong 
employment demand.  Even some places outside the immediate quake 
zone seem to be reviving: a contact in Chongqing observed that, 
while construction activity was visibly way down in late 2008, 
as of January it looked like someone flipped a switch back to 
the previous frenetic pace, putting many people back to work. 
And according to a real estate industry contact in Guangzhou, 
all real estate companies in the region slowed their production 
down dramatically, especially the production of high-end 
housing, but due to low labor costs very few people were laid 
off as a result. 
 
============================ 
Housing prices edging up in some markets 
============================ 
 
¶13.  (SBU) With trading volume for housing returning to normal 
levels, according to our E-House contact, prices in some markets 
by April had begun to rise slightly.  Of the 40 cities covered 
by E-House, the contact pointed to Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and 
Chongqing as clearly coming off their lows.  For example, a real 
estate agent contact told Chengdu EconOff his personal view on 
Chongqing housing was that now is the time to buy, given his 
sense that price and turnover signals indicate an upward trend. 
(Comment:  This is relatively good news for the real estate 
industry, which has been quick to hype the shift in hope that 
consumers, sensing a bottom to the market, will swarm back in. 
End comment.) 
 
¶14.  (SBU) The potential turnaround in prices comes at the end 
of a long nationwide decline:  sales prices in Beijing for 
residential, office, and commercial real estate have all seen 
consistent, gradual declines since 2008, and a Guangdong-based 
real estate investor noted that prices have fallen to 50 percent 
of their peak levels.  Markets such as Chengdu and Chongqing 
avoided the extremes of the bubble, though, with a real estate 
investment manager there saying prices never got out of control. 
 He noted that long-term oversupply, combined with an 
unwillingness of lower-end sellers to price below cost, has left 
prices relatively stable. 
 
============================ 
Real estate sector still could be facing weak growth 
============================ 
 
¶15.  (SBU) Industry experts disagree on the short-term prospects 
for the housing market.  Our Shanghai-based E-House contact 
predicts that trading volume will tick back down in the middle 
of the year--May trading slowed down from April's--before rising 
later in the year when medium-term consumer demand kicks in 
again.  The contact further cites sentiment in the banking 
industry that loose monetary policies will be halted in the 
second half, impacting mortgage lending.  A leading 
Shanghai-based academic in mid May told a real estate 
conference, "It is too early to say that the real estate market 
will revive."  Even more pessimistically, Consulate Guangzhou's 
real estate consultant contact strongly doubts that the market 
in South China will recover as long as the world economy 
continues to have problems, and another locally based real 
estate executive estimates that the China real estate market 
will likely not fully recover until at least 2015.  By way of 
contrast, a Guangzhou-based executive with Evergrande--which is 
seeking to issue an IPO--sees a continuous upward trend this 
year. 
 
============================ 
Banks relying too heavily on real estate growth? 
============================ 
 
 
SHANGHAI 00000291  005.3 OF 006 
 
 
¶16.  (SBU) Several of our contacts raised the possibility that 
banks are underestimating risk in the real estate sector, 
especially with respect to their loans to property developers, 
and may see a surge in nonperforming loans in a prolonged 
economic downturn.  In the fourth quarter 2008 People's Bank of 
China (PBOC) Monetary Policy Report, PBOC stated that 18.3 
percent of bank lending in 2008 went to real estate, including 
both household mortgages and loans to property developers.  As 
mentioned above, bank lending as a source of financing for the 
real estate sector is up 16 percent in the first five months of 
¶2009.  A Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) contact, 
however, noted that banks were also exposed through other 
channels, including real estate investment trusts (REITs) and 
illegal channeling of funds from third-party enterprises.  The 
contact said that these two sources make up a large portion of 
real estate firms' self-raised capital, which is up 11 percent 
in the first five months.  Adding together these and other 
factors, according to the scholar, 80 percent of bank loans are 
real estate-related. 
 
¶17.  (SBU) The CASS scholar noted that if housing prices drop 
sharply, most of the legal and illegal loans will become 
non-performing.  He warned that a subprime crisis may occur in 
China if prices continue to fall.  CBRC did require banks to do 
stress tests on real estate lending in 2008, but no public 
information became available on the results.  A construction 
expert at the Jones Day law firm in Beijing stated, 
"Non-performing loans are a ticking time-bomb."  He speculated 
that many loans will be non-performing by the end of 2009, given 
current trends in lending.  He told EconOffs that banks have 
thrown money at projects with little risk analysis, and will 
first try "evergreening" troubled loans rather than write them 
off.  In Guangzhou, our real estate consultant contact said that 
banks would not be able to stay in business without the real 
estate industry.  Given this reliance, said the contact, if 
prices had dropped a further 15 percent from their lows last 
year, banks likely would have begun to fail. 
 
¶18.  (SBU) Some banks are aware of this vulnerability, say our 
contacts.  The executive of a Chengdu real estate company notes 
that banks there are less willing to lend to real estate 
companies and continue to rate them as high risk borrowers.  In 
Chengdu, this has resulted in a sharp drop in lending.  In 2007, 
60.3 percent of commercial bank lending went to real estate; 
this dropped to 18 percent in 2008, and to 12.6 percent in the 
first two months in 2009.  In Beijing, the Jones Day expert told 
EconOffs that, while banks are more willing to lend to 
construction projects, they are cautious about lending to 
private developers and real estate projects.  He added that 
there isn't a lot of sympathy for private developers, and there 
is virtually no pressure from the government to lend to them. 
As a result, bank loans are not reaching smaller real estate and 
development firms, and there's a sense that there needs to be 
some consolidation, he said. 
 
¶19.  (SBU) At the same time, our contacts agree that banks are 
not at risk from homeowner defaults.  Chinese industry experts 
told EconOffs that mortgage defaults are not the "Chinese way," 
and they are sure people will continue to make home payments. 
 
============================ 
Comment 
============================ 
 
¶20.  (SBU) Our contacts describe a real estate industry that 
narrowly avoided larger problems this past fall, and now is 
eager to find signs that the downturn has ended and profit 
growth can return.  However, the short-term prospects are still 
uncertain, leaving the industry in a mood to coast along rather 
 
SHANGHAI 00000291  006 OF 006 
 
 
than rev up a new wave of investment and construction.  This 
industry mood is further darkened by Central Government policy, 
which septel describes as running contrary to real estate 
developers' hopes by emphasizing low-profit affordable housing 
rather than the double-digit returns of luxury apartments and 
villas.  All this points to real estate investment remaining low 
until developers are more certain about medium term trends, and 
that the boost real estate investment has given to gross capital 
formation--the biggest single contributor to recent years' GDP 
as measured on the expenditure side--will remain muted this year 
even as the Chinese Government tries to achieve 8 percent GDP 
growth. 
 
¶21.  (SBU) Aside from the GDP impact of construction activity, 
the prospects of higher housing demand and rising real estate 
valuations could provide a boost to consumer spending.  Several 
of our contacts noted that the simultaneous hits from the stock 
market fall and the slump in real estate prices had taken a toll 
in consumer confidence.  This is widely regarded as true despite 
high retail sales growth rates--which continue at above-GDP 
growth rates, and therefore are helping to pull the 
economy--since retail sales covers more than household 
purchases.  A Guangzhou-based executive with a real estate 
developer that operates China-wide commented that Guangzhou's 
local measures were aimed more at increasing consumer confidence 
than actually helping the industry, implying that the government 
there is making the connection between consumer spending and the 
real estate market as well. 
CAMP