Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's forecast that revenues generated from mainland property would fall by up to 5 percent, mainly due to current high prices and continuing tight policies.

Housing prices in first-tier cities are immune to drops, while it's relatively risky in third and fourth tier cities, S&P found, adding the mainland property market lacks growth momentum.

Rated developers will be performing better than the market average as most of them have already slowed their pace in land acquisitions, which helps neutralize impact brought by slower market growth, S&P said.

However, raising capital will be a significant problem for developers, especially for small enterprises, as most of their bonds are expiring in the next two years, which means they would have pay back a great amount to investors.

The National Bureau of Statistics of China posted new home prices in 70 major cities in October. First-hand property prices slipped 0.1 percent month-to- month in first-tier cities, showing a 13-month consecutive growth drop.

China Merchants Land (0978) said it expected net profit for 2017 to grow not less than 80 percent from a year ago, boosting its share price up as much as 5.7 percent in afternoon trading to a two- week high yesterday.

The profit hike is mainly due to drastic growth in "total gross floor area of properties completed and delivered" this year, as well as its rising holdings in project firms that also have an increasing number of properties completed and delivered.

Its share price jumped 5 percent yesterday, closing at HK$1.47.

The National Development and Reform Commission projected China's economy this year to be better than expected, and forecast a 6.5 percent growth for its annual gross domestic product.

The commission's vice secretary said he looked forward to a higher than 6.5 percent GDP rise next year, as a result of market and government stimulation.