(Yicai Global) Dec. 1 -- China’s real estate sales in November stayed flat with the previous two months, showing little signs of recovery despite a slew of new measures introduced by the government that month to support the property sector.

Sales turnover at the country’s top 100 real estate developers dipped 0.3 percent last month from October, but plunged 25.5 percent from the same period last year, according to the latest figures released by real estate data cruncher China Real Estate Information Corp. In the first 11 months, sales plummeted 42.6 percent year on year.

The floor area sold in 30 key cities shrank 14 percent in November from the month before, and 30 percent year on year, to the lowest level in the past six months, Shanghai-based CRIC said.

Recent government policies support financing for developers, said Liu Shui, a member of the business department of property research organization China Index Academy. But more measures are needed to boost demand in order to achieve stable sales.

Sixteen developers in the top 100 saw sales jump 30 percent in November from the month before, and 40 of the top 100 achieved month-on-month growth, according to EH Consulting. But around 70 percent logged year-on-year falls in sales.

And three developers in the top 30 logged a 30 percent increase in sales last month from October, while the others were all below 20 percent. Ten out of the top 30 achieved month-on-month growth in November, but at a much slower rate than in October.

The property market should bottom out in the second quarter next year, and transactions should pick up as house buyers who have stayed on the sidelines enter the market, CRIC said.

The market should reach rock bottom in the second quarter of 2023, EH Consulting said. But it is not clear how long it will stay at the bottom.

Earlier last month regulators issued USD28 billion in interest-free loans to the property sector and lifted a 12-year ban on equity refinancing to help ease liquidity difficulties. As a result, many real estate firms have seen their stock prices rebound, but sales remain lackluster.

China Vanke, Poly Developments and Holdings, China Overseas Land and Investment and China Resources Land, which are among the country’s 10 biggest developers, logged a drop in sales of between 9 percent and 19 percent in November from the month before. While defaulters Sunac China Holdings, Shimao Group Holdings and Jinke Property Group saw sales sink over 60 percent year on year.

Many developers are offering sales promotions in order to shift stock before the end of the year, CRIC said. Poly Developments, Longfor Group Holdings, China Overseas Land and Vanke have all increased their discounts.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor