(c) Reuters. Beijing, China. Picture taken December 16, 2017. Picture taken December 16, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s new home prices rose slightly in September, breaking a four-month decline, data showed on Sunday, as developers sped up launches to take advantage of a recent slew of support measures. According to a study by China Index Academy’s real estate research company, prices rose on average 0.05% from the previous month, after falling since May. The firm reported that the biggest monthly increase since October 20,21 was driven by developers who launched new, better quality housing projects. Since 2021, when Beijing took action against developers who accumulated debt, the confidence in this sector has suffered. This led to a debt crisis. Deepening problems in the sector this year have dragged on the world’s second-biggest economy and rattled global financial markets.
China has announced a raft of measures in recent weeks to boost home-buying sentiment, including easing some borrowing rules and relaxing home purchasing curbs in some cities.
These policies have given major cities like Beijing a tiny boost in new home sales, but some worry the improvement might be short-lived and could potentially dry up demand in smaller cities.
If such policies continue to be optimised, the report said, the market in first-tier cities are likely to stabilise this quarter while recovery in smaller cities might take longer. The report said that if such policies are optimised, the market in first-tier cities will likely stabilise this quarter, while recovery in smaller cities might take longer.