(Yicai Global) Dec. 15 -- China’s real estate sector still has favorable conditions for stable development despite some problems, according to a spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics.

The positive conditions include the fact that participants in the property market have become more rational in the wake of market adjustments and the long-term real estate mechanism is improving, Fu Linghui said at a press conference today.

To promote a virtuous cycle and the sector’s healthy development, China will continue to develop the simultaneous buying-renting of homes, accelerate development of the long-term home rental market, advance the building of government-subsidized housing, and support the residential market to better meet the reasonable housing needs of buyers, Fu said.

The policies that local authorities have introduced this year to promote the market’s healthy development are gradually showing effect, with a limited house price gains in some cities, he noted.

In the first 11 months, the floorage of homes sold rose 4.8 percent from a year earlier, slowing from 7.3 percent in the first 10 months, Fu said, while investment in property development gained 6 percent, compared with 7.2 percent in the January to October period.

But some cities still face stronger pressure on their real estate markets amid local population declines and economic development difficulties, with an increase in the debt risk at some homebuilders that have relied on high leverage to fuel blind expansion, Fu added.

China’s developers have landed in financial difficulties or even defaulted this year, Fu said. For instance, China Evergrande Group said this month it may not be able to repay a USD260 million note. It has debt of about CNY1.9 trillion (USD298.6 billion).

Editor: Futura Costaglione