Chinese Developer Is Preparing to Buy Land Again After Painful Slowdown

Chinese property developer Country Garden Holdings Co. is planning to buy residential land in local government auctions for the first time in more than a year, a further sign that the downturn in the country’s housing market is easing.

The company, one of the largest real-estate developers in China by contracted sales, was hit by a widespread slump in the sector last year that was marked by home sales declines, falling prices and a wave of international bond defaults among its peers.