In the first quarter, the net profit of China Vanke Co., China's largest property developer by market value, rose 15.8 percent year on year to 1.4 billion yuan ($222.18 million), according to the company's first-quarter report.

Due to the government's persistent control efforts in the real estate sector, the company's monthly transactions saw big fluctuations in the first quarter, with sales in 14 major cities hitting the lowest level since January 2006, down 72 percent year on year.

Although sales gradually picked up in February and March, the company saw declining transactions for the whole quarter. Compared with the same period last year, sales in terms of floor area in the 14 cities dropped 25.5 percent while turnover across the country declined 15.5 percent.