Real Estate

China Sees Rise in New Home Prices in Some Cities in January

 

China’s new home prices rose in January for the first time in a year, according to official data on Thursday.

The news comes amid a range of factors that may have stimulated demand, such as the end of the country’s zero-Covid restrictions, and more favourable property policies.

New home prices in January were up 0.1% month-on-month, versus a 0.2% slide in December, according to calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data released on Thursday.

A rise in new home prices was reported in 36 cities among 70 surveyed by the NBS last month, up from 15 in December.

ALSO SEE:

China New Bank Loans Hit Record $720 Billion in January

 

 

Stimulus envisaged in 2nd quarter

Analysts see rising home prices as a positive sign, but believe more stimulative policies are needed to lift currently dismal demand and spark a longer-term recovery.

The market expects Beijing will roll out more easing measures to further revive the sector, especially during or after a highly-anticipated annual parliament meeting starting in early March.

“We believe that with the strong policy support from both demand and financing side, the sales will start to rebound significantly from late Q2. Any early boom will be positive for the growth outlook,” Zhou Hao, chief economist at Guotai Junan International, said.

The property sector, once an engine of the world’s second-largest economy, has been hobbled by fragile demand and developers’ mounting debt defaults.

Authorities have rolled out a flurry of aggressive stimulus measures to prop up the sector since late last year, including encouraging property financing and allowing eligible cities to cut or abolish the floor on mortgage rates for first-home buyers.

 

Recovery patchy but sentiment improving

Sentiment has been improving, buoyed by Beijing’s Covid policy U-turn in December and supportive measures, but the recovery has been patchy, with private surveys showing home sales by floor area slumping around 20% from a year earlier.

Official sales figures will be released in mid-February. Prices were down 1.5% year-on-year in January, with the rate of decline unchanged from December.

“The roots of the crisis in China’s property sector lie in the worsening long-term outlook for demand,” said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics. “This has not improved. But sales started the year so beaten down that a short-run cyclical recovery is likely.”

 

  • Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard

 

ALSO SEE:

 

China Tightens Banks’ Reporting Rules to Classify Risks Better

 

Chinese Manufacturing Yet to Pick Up, Factory Prices Drop

 

China’s Provinces Splashed $50 Billion on Covid Curbs in 2022

 

 

Jim Pollard

Jim Pollard is an Australian journalist based in Thailand since 1999. He worked for News Ltd papers in Sydney, Perth, London and Melbourne before travelling through SE Asia in the late 90s. He was a senior editor at The Nation for 17+ years.

Recent Posts

China’s Shenzhou-16 Rocket Takes Astronauts up to Space Station

The astronauts will replace the three-member crew of the Shenzhou-15, who arrived at the space…

2 hours ago

Singapore Ousts Hong Kong as APAC’s Costliest City for a Home

A heavy influx of immigrants and a trend among young professionals to move out of…

3 hours ago

Elon Musk Reaches China, Meets Foreign Minister Qin Gang

The trip is Musk's first to China since he made headlines in early 2020 by…

4 hours ago

Japan Plans to Beam Solar Power From Space by 2025 – engadget

The country made a breakthrough in space-based solar energy back in 2015 and now says…

5 hours ago

India May Cut Import Tax on Solar Panels Amid Domestic Shortage

Government sources said the import tax may be halved, and GST cut, because local producers…

5 hours ago

China Strains, AI Top of The Agenda at US, EU Summit Talks

A 24-page draft joint statement focuses on AI algorithm standards, export controls and China’s non-market practices and disinformation

6 hours ago