Chief Economist of Sealand Securities: Sales of Real Estate Floor Space to Grow in 2023

SHANGHAI, Feb 17 (SMM) - Xia Lei, the chief economist of Sealand Securities, said at the 2023 Spring Strategy Conference of Sealand Securities that the real estate-related policies will continue to be optimistic in the future. In terms of interest rates, the housing loan interest rates in most Chinese cities are still relatively high. At present, only a few cities have broken through the lower limit of interest rates, and the interest rates of the remaining cities still have room for reduction. Under the low base effect in 2022 and relaxed policies, sales of floor space will rebound in 2023. It is estimated that sales of floor space will reach 1.38 billion square metres in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 1.5%. In terms of real estate investment, the "guaranteed delivery of buildings" policy and the improvement of the cash flow of real estate companies provide certain support for investment stabilisation. It is estimated that the investment in real estate development will be 14.1 trillion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 6%.