More mainland cities report drop in home prices
Record 55of 70 cities post drop in housing costs, fuelling hopes restrictions on buyers may be revised to stimulate demand
A record number of mainland cities reported a drop in home prices last month, official data showed yesterday, stoking expectations that more regional authorities will relax policies to stimulate demand in a sector crucial to the broader economy.
Analysts said developers needed to cut prices even more in the coming months as the worst had yet to hit the industry - the biggest concern for policymakers for the rest of the year.
Real estate investment directly accounted for 15.6 per cent of the nation's gross domestic product in the first half.
New home prices fell in 55 of the 70 major cities monitored by the National Bureau of Statistics, against 35 in May.
Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, suffered the steepest monthly drop of 1.8 per cent, accelerating from a 1.4 per cent dip in May.
"We expect the weakening trend of home prices to continue in the next few months," said Edison Bian, the chief China property analyst at UOB Kay Hian.
June recorded the second consecutive month-on-month fall in new home prices in almost two years, according to Reuters' calculation of the official data.