New-home prices rise in China as market steadies
Residential property snaps three months of falls, with increases in 50 of the 70 tracked by the statistics bureau
Chinese home prices rose in more cities in October, snapping a three-month decline, a sign the market is stabilising amid government efforts to curb property speculation.
New-home prices, excluding state-subsidised housing, climbed in 50 of the 70 cities tracked by the government, compared with 44 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday. Prices fell in 14 cities from the previous month and were unchanged in six.
The moderate gains show China is having some success in its bid to rein in the buoyant property market without forcing a sharp deceleration. Prices had been easing after the government imposed restrictions on purchases earlier in the year. Giving support to that campaign, President Xi Jinping used his speech to the twice-a-decade Communist Party congress last month to say that homes were meant “to be inhabited, not for speculation”.
Bank of Communications analyst Xia Dan said more cities were seeing increases in property prices, but they were” indeed growing very steadily”.