According to the Zhongtong Financial APP, mainland real estate stocks opened high in the morning and then fell across the board. As of the time of publication, Seazen (01030) fell by 3.6% to HKD 2.14, while Zhongliang Hldg (02772) fell by 3.57% to HKD 0.135; Sunac (01918) fell by 2.82% to HKD 2.76, while Shimao Group (00813) fell by 2.31% to HKD 1.27.

On the news front, Morgan Stanley released research reports stating that the Ministry of Finance of the country introduced a series of housing tax relief measures yesterday (the 13th) to reduce the transaction costs for both buyers and sellers. The measures are in line with market expectations and may provide slight help to real estate sales in the short term. The bank believes that although the measures may reduce costs for both buyers and sellers, they still cannot reverse residents' cautious views on property prices. Along with the residents' reduced desire to increase leverage, the bank believes that the above-mentioned tax incentives may slightly help with inner house sales but are unlikely to support a sustained recovery.

According to Morgan Stanley, real estate developers are unlikely to benefit significantly from the policies as the gross margin for most projects is only in the teens. Mainland real estate companies Zhonghai Overseas Dev and Yuexiu Land may benefit relatively more. Conversely, it is believed that second-hand housing agencies in first-tier cities may be the primary beneficiaries of the increased demand for housing upgrades.