15th September 2023 – (Beijing) Official data released on Friday revealed that in August, most Chinese cities witnessed a month-on-month decrease in home prices, with fewer cities reporting price increases. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that out of 70 large and medium-sized cities, only 17 saw month-on-month increases in new home prices, a decrease from the 20 cities reported in July.
In the first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, new home prices experienced a slight decline of 0.2 percent compared to the previous month. Similarly, in 31 second-tier cities, prices of new homes decreased by 0.2 per cent in August compared to July. The decline in new housing prices was more pronounced in 35 third-tier cities, with a 0.4 per cent decrease, slightly wider than July’s 0.3 per cent drop.
When compared to the same period last year, new home prices in first-tier cities and second-tier cities saw increases of 0.6 per cent and 0.3 percent, respectively. However, prices of new homes in third-tier cities experienced a decline of 1.4 per cent.
The second-hand housing market also witnessed a year-on-year decline in August. Resale home prices in both first and second-tier cities fell at a faster pace, down 1.6 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, compared to a year ago. In third-tier cities, resale home prices dropped by 3.5 per cent, according to the NBS data.
To promote the healthy development of the property sector, China implemented several measures in late August. These measures included interest rate cuts on existing mortgages for first-home loans and the relaxation of mortgage rules.
