Attitude to new house purchases weakens on back of economic uncertainty.

The Chinese private property market has developed rapidly over the past ten years, however, 2009 is shaping up to be a difficult year for developers as Chinese consumer sentiment takes a battering and many private consumers believe that this is not the most suitable time to buy new housing. For example, over 60% of Beijing consumers now believe that this is a bad time to buy a house. The sentiment is not as negative in other markets but indicates that Chinese consumers will air on the side of caution when considering large ticket purchases in 2009.

The outlook for the automobile market is also weak.

Private ownership of automobiles has skyrocketed over the past several years, however, 2009 looks like it will most definitely be a slow year for auto sales. Over 50% of Shanghai consumers believe that 2009 will be a bad year to buy a car, such low sentiment is being driven by growing concerns about the outlook for the Chinese economy.

In addition over 53% of consumers believe that 2009 will be a bad year to undertake any new stock purchases. Sentiment towards purchases of house hold appliances, refrigerators and items such as air conditioners is also weakening. In the Chengdu market almost 40% of consumers stated that they planned to delay these purchases until later in 2009 or even until 2010.

The state of the economy now tops the list of concerns. Concerns about job security are also on the rise. Overall, 30% of respondents believe that jobs are now difficult to get, however, results vary greatly across the five cities included in the study.