China new home prices tick up in Sept, ending four-month decline

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.

Prices rose 0.05% on average from the previous month after falling since May, according to a survey by China Index Academy, a real estate research firm. Only 30 of the 100 cities surveyed reported a fall in new home prices.

The biggest month-on-month increase since October 2021 driven by developers launching new, higher quality housing projects, the firm said in a report.

Confidence in the property sector, which accounts for one-fourth of economic activity, has been hit since 2021 when Beijing cracked down on debt accumulation by developers, fuelling 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.

China Evergrande (HK:) Group, the world’s most indebted property developer, with more than $300 billion in liabilities, said on Thursday its founder was being investigated over suspected crimes.