Realtors grapple with dwindling margins

The country's largest listed housing developers are still grappling with shrinking margins despite a sale triumph in the first half, according to an examination of their latest half-year earnings.

Of the 60 homebuilders examined by Centaline Property Agency, average net profit margin - the sector's most closely watched indicator - slipped to 8.4 percent, a far cry from the 12 percent of just two years ago. Margins of over half of the developers declined below 10 percent.

Evergrande Group, which released its latest half-time report on Monday, revealed the industry's highest net profit margin so far, 13.1 percent, a figure not included in the Centaline study.