Realty data shares hit rough patch amid sales downturn

Deutsche Bank AG analysts led by Vivian Hao told Bloomberg on Friday that they have cut their rating on SouFun from 'buy', saying in an e-mailed research note that there is a "fair chance" the company will lower its 2014 earnings guidance.

Tian X. Hou, founder and CEO of Chinese equity research firm T.H. Capital, wrote in an article on chinamoneynetwork.com on Wednesday that she is positive that Soufun can make it through the hard patch.

"As a leading real estate service platform, we believe Soufun's diversified services are likely to offset market fluctuations. As such, we are adjusting our revenue growth outlook for each service line and maintain our 'buy' rating," Hou said.

She believes that the headwinds may force developers and agencies to promote their inventories more proactively than in a normal market situation in order to survive and Soufun is well-positioned to benefit from such promotions.

The management of Soufun had recently indicated that it was bolstering its efforts by hiring more sales personnel. Its sales force increased to 4,500 people by the end of May, compared with 3,500 by the end of the first quarter.

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