Stabilization expected

The nation's top regulators have also taken a supportive stance to stabilize the property sector in recent months, which has greatly boosted market confidence and strengthened expectations, experts said.

It is expected that in the first few months of this year the property market will continue last year's low market trend before gradually rising in the latter half thanks to the macroeconomic measures and demand recovery, said Lian Ping, chief economist and head of the Zhixin Investment Research Institute, citing the institute's research report on the real estate market.

"New home construction may rebound in the third quarter, and growth of the whole year's real estate investment may rise at a slower pace of 3.5 percent, while sales will see an obvious recovery in the fourth quarter after gradually stabilizing in the third," Lian said.

Tang Hua, senior director and head of residential sales at Savills China, said cities maintained rapid growth by attracting more talent and retaining the value of houses in first- and second-tier cities. Combined with the eased regulations, first-tier cities and strong second-tier cities are likely to take the lead in stabilizing the market, making it a good time for buyers to enter the market.

For most third- and fourth-tier cities, the continuous population outflow and lack of high-end industries will make rule relaxation a chance to ease the pressure on sales and consumption.

Hui Jianqiang, head of research at the Beijing Zhongfang-Yanxie Technology Service, said fine-tuned policies for the property market should guard against violent market swings, either too-rapid rises or too-sharp falls, as these factors would drive up demand in more than 40 related subindustries.

"The connection of these sectors may not as close as before, but the pulling effect is still there as long as the nation's urbanization continues," Hui said.

The overall recovery of the real estate industry chain can effectively support economic growth.

At present, the smooth operation of the real estate industry is an important cornerstone for ensuring stable macroeconomic development. COVID-19 outbreaks in many regions have affected the downstream infrastructure and property construction, and even consumption, leading to a slowdown in domestic demand. However, the continuous relaxation of relevant monetary policies may head the market in a positive direction. As a result, demand for domestic property is expected to rebound and spur economic recovery, Tang said.

Pillar industry

According to Cheng Chong, an analyst with the big data research institute of Shenzhen Fangdd Network Technology, an online property trading service platform, Ning Jizhe, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said last year that property is a pillar industry, and residential properties are being bought for people to live in and not as investments.

Research by Ren Zeping, an online influencer and former chief economist of property giant Evergrande, showed that in 2020, the real estate sector and its related industry chain accounted for 17 percent of national GDP, while 27.3 percent of fixed-asset investment came from investment in real estate development.

Cheng said that as an important part of the economy, the property market's stable development is essential and necessary for healthy economic activity.

Xu Shuwei contributed to this story.