More signs of a recovery in Chinese property: developers surveyed by China Confidential, an FT research service, reported a surge in activity in April. Of 300 surveyed in 40 cities nationwide, 55 per cent reported an increase in sales from the previous month, taking the China Confidential Home Sales Index to 66.9 (a reading above 50 indicates growth).
中国房地产出现了更多的复苏迹象：英国《金融时报》旗下研究机构《中国投资参考》(China Confidential)走访的开发商报告称，4月份的销量大幅飙升。全国40座城市受访的300个开发商当中，有55%报告称销量环比增长，推动“中国投资参考住房销售指数”(China Confidential Home Sales Index)升至66.9（高于50代表增长）。
Growth came from an already high base in March, when developers reported a sharp uptick in sales following the Chinese new year holiday. Significantly, this is the first time that the index has stayed above 60 for two consecutive months since China Confidential began its survey in December 2012.
4月份的增长建立在3月份已然很高的基数之上。开发商在3月份报告称，中国春节假期之后销量急剧上升。重要的是，这是自2012年12月《中国投资参考》启动这一调查以来，该指数首次连续两个月位于60上方。

Momentum appears to have been sustained into May. Home sales in 42 cities increased 37 per cent year-on-year in the first five days of this month, according to local property bureau data tracked by China Confidential.
这一势头似乎延续到了5月份。《中国投资参考》追踪的地方房地产部门的数据显示，本月头5天，42座城市的住房销量同比增长37%。
The uptick appears to be a response to Beijing’s decision to relax mortgage requirements for second-time buyers. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) said at the end of March that down payments for home buyers with an existing mortgage would be lowered from 60 per cent to 40 per cent of the purchase price. Of the developers responding to China Confidential’s survey, 43 per cent said that customers were able to secure a mortgage with a down payment of 40 to 50 per cent in April, compared with an average of just 8 per cent since the survey began. After the relaxation of the 60 per cent rule, 44 per cent of developers said customers seeking to upgrade their homes were their biggest source of demand in April, the largest proportion in the history of the survey.
这一增长似乎是中国政府决定放松二套房房贷要求导致的。中国央行3月底表示，对拥有一套住房且相应购房贷款未结清的居民家庭购二套房，最低首付款比例从60%调整为40%。回应《中国投资参考》调查的开发商当中有43%表示，客户在4月份能够搞到首付款比例为40%至50%的房贷，而自该调查启动以来，平均而言只有8%的开发商表示客户能搞到这样的房贷。在放松二套房首付款要求之后，有44%的开发商表示改善型客户是4月份需求的最大来源，这么高的比例是该调查历史上没有过的。
While upgrader demand has picked up, property speculation remains muted, in keeping with Beijing’s wish to avoid a repeat of previous bouts of overheating in the housing market: just 17 per cent of developers said their biggest source of sales was from customers wanting to purchase an additional home. A separate survey of urban consumers by China Confidential shows an increasingly positive attitude towards purchasing a house for self-occupancy, while attitudes towards buying property for investment are still negative. The China Confidential Property Investment Sentiment Index was 42.9 in April (a reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment), while the China Confidential House Buying Sentiment Index rose to 53.4.
在改善型需求上升的同时，房地产投机依然低迷，这与中国政府想避免前几次住房市场过热重演的愿望相吻合：只有17%的开发商表示，它们销量的最大贡献者是投资性购房客户。《中国投资参考》对城市购房者展开的另一项调查显示，自住购房情绪日渐积极，投资购房情绪仍然消极。“中国投资参考房地产投资情绪指数”(China Confidential Property Investment Sentiment Index)在4月份是42.9（低于50代表情绪消极），而“中国投资参考住房购买情绪指数”(China Confidential House Buying Sentiment Index)升至53.4.
And while banks are willing to accept smaller down payments by their borrowers, interest rates remain relatively high. Of the developers surveyed by China Confidential, 81 per cent said second-time buyers had to pay above the benchmark lending rate in April. Nor was there any sign that mortgage rates are being significantly lowered for first-time buyers, something the PBoC has repeatedly tried to encourage commercial banks to do. Although just 7 per cent of developers said first-time buyers had to pay above the benchmark lending rate for a mortgage in April, only 19 per cent said their customers were able to secure a mortgage for less than the benchmark rate. That compares with 50 per cent who said their customers were getting rates below the benchmark at the beginning of 2013.
尽管银行愿意接受较低的首付款比例，但它们设定的房贷利率依然相对较高。《中国投资参考》走访的开发商当中有81%表示，二套房客户在4月份不得不接受高于基准房贷利率的利率。同时也没有任何迹象显示，银行对首套房客户大幅下调房贷利率——中国央行曾多次试图鼓励商业银行这么做。尽管仅有7%的开发商说首套房客户在4月份不得不接受高于基准房贷利率的利率，但只有19%的开发商称他们的客户能够搞到利率低于基准房贷利率的房贷。而在2013年初，有50%的开发商表示他们的客户搞到了利率低于基准房贷利率的房贷。
Seemingly, banks are not entirely playing ball with Beijing’s attempts to rally the housing market; mortgage lending is a fairly unprofitable area of business for them. The previous policy-led upswing in home sales at the end of 2014 quickly fizzled out due to still-tight credit conditions for homebuyers and, despite the positive signs in recent months, China Confidential’s survey data suggest the same could well happen this time around.
银行似乎并未全力配合中国政府刺激住房市场的努力，对它们来说，房贷是利润率相当低的一块业务。由于购房者面对的信贷环境仍然紧张，2014年底由政策驱动的住房销量增长如昙花一现；尽管近几个月出现了积极的迹象，但《中国投资参考》的调查数据显示，这一次的情况很可能同样如此。