Big developers' growth strong

The sales revenues of the 10 largest listed housing developers in China increased 27 percent year-on-year to 388.3 billion yuan ($63.29 billion) in the first half of 2013, while total sales volume increased 21 percent to 34.03 million square meters, according to figures reported Wednesday.

China Vanke Co ranked top of the list with sales revenues of 83.7 billion yuan in the first half of the year, according to a report by Securities Daily, citing data from Centaline Property. Other developers in the top 10 included Poly Real Estate Group Co, Gemdale Group and China Merchants Property Development Co.

"High house prices and huge demand in the property market are the major reasons behind the good performance of these developers," Hui Jianqiang, a senior research fellow of E-house China R&D Institute, told the Global Times Wednesday.

"Larger developers are gradually occupying more of the market. They are better able to buy land plots than smaller players, making it hard for the latter to compete," Hui said.

The 10 large developers had a combined market share of 6.6 percent in the first half of this year, up from 3.8 percent in 2009.

Small developers are likely to have faced more difficulty during recent years due to the curbs on property market, although they still have opportunities in third- and fourth-tier cities, Hui said.

Of 70 cities surveyed in June by the National Bureau of Statistics, 63 saw the price of new houses rise month-on-month, while 69 saw prices rise year-on-year.

"House prices will continue to grow steadily for the rest of the year, and the central government will not alter its policies aimed at cooling the market," Liu Yuan, a senior research manager at Shanghai-based Centaline Property Research Center, told the Global Times Wednesday.

A government statement released after a meeting held by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Tuesday said central authorities will continue to promote the steady and healthy development of the property market.