China’s April new home price index falls for the first time in seven years as Covid-19 adds to the slumping property market’s cash woes

• The index of home prices in 70 of China’s benchmark cities fell 0.1 per cent in April from a year ago, the first monthly decline since a 0.4 per cent drop in November 2015
• Prices of lived-in homes fell 0.3 per cent, dropping for the eighth straight month