China’s February residential real estate prices show signs of cooling, as fewer cities post gains
Slowdown was most pronounced in first- and second-tier cities, the statistics bureau says
China’s residential property market showed signs of cooling in February, as fewer cities reported price gains for the month compared to January, according to the latest official figures.
The slowdown was most pronounced in first- and second-tier cities, while third-tier cities carried the bulk of the price gains, Liu Jianwei, senior statistician at the National Bureau of Statistics, said in a statement on Monday.
New home prices rose in 44 of 70 cities tracked in February, compared with 52 that reported price gains in January, the statistics bureau data showed. Prices were lower in 16 cities and unchanged in 10, according to the data, which excluded government-subsidised housing.
“It reflects the fact that the driving force of growth is weakening,” said Yan Yuejin, research director at Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute. “Developers are worried about the cooling off of the market, thus they are not that tough when setting the price [of new flats].”
New home prices have levelled out in China’s biggest cities in recent months as officials have stepped up efforts to put on the brakes by focusing on stable property market development this year.
Speaking at the annual parliamentary gathering in Beijing, Wang Menghui, minister of housing and urban-rural development, said the government will step up property market regulation and fight illegal conduct by property companies and intermediaries.