Oversupply is likely to be a key theme in China's property market in 2009 and will keep prices under pressure, according to Soho China's chief executive officer Zhang Xin. On the residential side, the government's plan to build almost 10 million new units of social housing over the next three years is contributing to this glut, while on the office front, numerous foreign funds that have eagerly bought properties in China's major cities over the past couple of years are now just as eager to sell as they deleverage their portfolios.
Zhang says Japanese and American funds which are holding prime location commercial properties in Beijing and Shanghai are among the sellers. They are all...