New home market in top mainland China cities softens in April
Market has cooled much faster than expected, with price discounts spreading to more cities
New home prices either rose more slowly or fell more quickly last month from a year earlier in 10 key mainland cities tracked by the SCMP-Creda index, adding to signs the mainland's real estate market is losing steam.
Prices continued to rise in seven cities but fell in three, including Tianjin and Chengdu in Sichuan province.
Beijing led the gainers, with an increase of 18.7 per cent, but the pace was sharply down from March's surge of 34.5 per cent.
The second-tier city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province suffered the fastest decline of 15 per cent, according to the index, the result of a collaboration between the South China Morning Post and China Real Estate Data Academy, a mainland consultancy.
The index, published each month, covers primary home prices, transactions and affordability in 10 major cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Nanjing in Jiangsu province, Hangzhou, Wuhan in Hubei province, Chongqing and Chengdu.