Chinese property stocks experienced a broad decline. At the time of writing, C&D INTL GROUP (01908.HK) fell 6.17% to HK$16.41, R&F PROPERTIES (02777.HK) dropped 5.95% to HK$0.395, CHINA OVERSEAS (00688.HK) decreased 4.54% to HK$15.76, and SEAZEN (01030.HK) declined 3.72% to HK$2.07.

Market sentiment was influenced by mixed signals from recent data. In April, online second-hand home transaction area in 11 key cities increased by 9% year-on-year, indicating sustained high transaction volume in the secondary market, with a narrowing decline in housing prices. Huachuang Securities pointed out that the property market showed resilience in April, primarily due to the natural release of pent-up demand following lowered purchase barriers, including previous price drops and relaxed provident fund policies. However, the firm noted an inability to cross-verify sustained improvement in other domestic demand indicators and suggested that subsequent home purchase demand might become insufficient after this concentrated release.

Notably, the latest data from the People's Bank of China showed that household loans decreased by 786.9 billion yuan in April, a year-on-year decline of 265.3 billion yuan. Within this, medium to long-term household loans, a key indicator of mortgage demand, decreased by 340.8 billion yuan, down 217.7 billion yuan year-on-year and 636.1 billion yuan month-on-month, pointing to a comprehensive contraction in mortgage demand. Cinda Futures indicated that financial data falling below expectations may trigger market concerns about the sustainability of the property market recovery, necessitating further tracking of housing transaction trends.