China's new home prices extend decline in August as property slump drags on
China's new home prices fell 0.1% month-on-month in August, with the annual decline easing to 3.0%, as the prolonged property downturn continued to weigh on the economy.
China's new home prices continued to slide in August, official data showed, as the country's long-running property downturn kept pressure on the broader economy.
Prices fell 0.1% from July, matching the monthly declines recorded in both July and June, according to calculations based on figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
On an annual basis, new home prices were down 3.0%, an improvement from the 3.2% drop in July and the mildest yearly fall recorded so far this year.
The persistent weakness points to the property sector remaining a drag on growth, weighing on household consumption and straining local government revenues unless stronger policy support is introduced to revive the market.
The picture varied sharply by city tier. New home prices in tier-one cities rose 0.1% month-on-month, reversing an earlier decline, while tier-two and tier-three cities continued to fall. Resale prices in the largest cities also showed signs of improvement, edging higher in August.
Authorities rolled out a series of measures last month aimed at steering developers away from the presale model, which left homebuyers protesting when construction stalled on properties they had already paid for. Financial regulators also extended the maximum mortgage term to 40 years from 30 years.
The steps are intended to rebuild buyer confidence and put real estate development on a less risky funding footing over the longer term, though analysts expect little near-term boost to housing demand.
Wider indicators offered scant evidence of a turnaround. Property sales, investment and new construction starts all fell during the first eight months of the year, separate data showed.
The sector's chronic weakness has fed into a broader slowdown, with growth easing to 4.3% in the second quarter. Data released on Tuesday suggested the world's second-largest economy will continue to lean on external demand to offset soft domestic consumption and a downturn in investment.