THE STAR. 20TH MARCH: The property market recovery continued in February as more Chinese cities reported a month-on-month growth, while the year-on-year decline narrowed in lower-tier cities, official data show.
Year-on-year, however, first-tier cities reported growth against a smaller drop seen in second and third-tier cities, said Sheng Guoqing, chief statistician of the NBS’ urban division.
The improved performance resulted from supportive policies and pent-up demand finding a release in the past month, Sheng said.
Fourteen of the 70 major cities reported year-on-year price rises in February. The corresponding figure in January was 15, NBS data showed.
On average, new home prices of the 70 major cities edged up 0.3% month-on-month in February, but declined 1.9% year-on-year, said Yan Yuejin, director of the Shanghai-based E-house China Research and Development Institution.
“This is the first time since September 2021 that the 70 cities’ average home price index turned positive, thus ending the 17-month negative trend. This turning point will boost market confidence and promote the recovery of the real estate sector,” said Yan.
A broad rally in home prices appeared in major Chinese cities, which also indicated the strong momentum for home prices to get further stabilised, Yan said.
New home prices in four top-tier cities registered a 1.7% growth year-on-year in February, and increased 0.2% month-on-month, NBS data showed.
New home prices in 31 second-tier cities tracked by the NBS reported a growth of 0.4% month-on-month on average in February, but contracted 0.7% year-on-year.
New home prices in 35 third-tier cities grew 0.3% month-on-month but fell 3.3% year-on-year.
Prices of pre-owned homes also staged a recovery. In this segment of the market, for the first time since August 2021, cities reporting price growth outnumbered those reporting price falls, said Chen Xiao, a senior analyst with the Zhuge Real Estate Data Research Centre.
In all, 40 cities saw their existing home prices rise month-on-month in February, 27 more than the previous month. And seven cities recorded a growth in prices year-on-year, one more than a month earlier.
Pre-owned home prices in the four first-tier cities rose 0.7% from the previous month. Compared to a year ago, the prices rose 1%.
Pre-owned home prices in 31 second-tier cities edged up 0.1% from a month ago, but fell 2.9% year-on-year. Pre-owned home prices in 35 third-tier cities stayed flat month-on-month, but fell 4.4% year-on-year.
“The home price index in February showed the sector has entered a phase of stabilisation, and this trend will extend into March,” Chen said. On the back of China’s robust recovery, Goldman Sachs has raised its forecast for its gross domestic product growth in 2023 from 5.5% to 6%.