China's property sector is closely watched as it contributes an estimated 15 percent of the mainland's gross domestic product (GDP), with many analysts pointing to concerns over the potential for overbuilding to spur debt defaults among developers.  "A core feature of any bear case on China is the softening property market," Bernstein analysts said in a note last week. "Abandoned apartment buildings in central China, developers with years of unsaleable inventory and falling property prices across the board are all part of a bleak mosaic of the slowdown in the property sector turning into a collapse."  But Bernstein noted that despite the mainland's economic slowdown, property prices have fallen only around 5.4 percent over the past 12 months, while they remain up around 16 percent compared with five years ago.  "If the Chinese property market was going to be the trigger for a meltdown in the Chinese economy, it isn't happening or it hasn't happened yet. The best explanation is, on a longer term view, the market is still attractive," Bernstein said.  Read More China tycoon: It's not game over for property sector  Greentown China and Shimao appear best-positioned for the urbanization trend toward fewer, larger east coast cities, while Poly Property may be too heavily focused on the wrong parts of the country, it said.  Mainland property players have gotten a boost recently, as Beijing moved to ease monetary policy to counter an economic slowdown, including the People's Bank of China's (PBOC) moves to cut its reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks.  Those steps could lead to as much as 1 trillion yuan ($160 billion) of fresh bank credit for the sector this year if the PBOC cuts the RRR further, Reorient Research estimated in an April note.
Remember those worries about a China property crash? Forget all that. Analysts are turning freshly positive on the mainland's property plays.