New home prices in China flat for first time in 18 months after govt push

China's new homes prices stopped falling month-on-month in December for the first time in 18 months, official data showed on Friday, after the government rolled out multiple rounds of stimulus to lift the property sector from a prolonged slump. 

That stood in contrast to a 0.1 per cent decrease in November, as calculated by Reuters based on data from China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). On an annual basis, new home prices fell 5.3 per cent following a 5.7 per cent drop in the preceding month. 

Home sales have slumped in China since the property market was hit by a crisis in 2021. Debt-laden property developers have been struggling to repay their borrowings and deliver pre-sold homes, dampening confidence in the sector. 

Beijing rolled out a slew of measures in the second half of last year to stabilise the real estate market, including cutting mortgage rates and allowing local governments to buy unsold housing units and idle land with special bond proceeds. 

Risks in China's real estate market have been significantly mitigated, the country's central bank governor said on Monday. 

That view was supported by the steady month-on-month prices and price increases in first-tier cities in December. 

Out of the 70 cities surveyed by the NBS, 23 cities saw an increase in home prices, six more than the previous month. 

Nevertheless, despite the government's efforts to strengthen the sector through various means, the fundamental problems facing most developers have hardly eased in the past three years. 

Additional property-related data released on Friday indicated continuing sluggishness in the supply side of the Chinese real estate market. Property investment in 2024 fell 10.6 per cent from the previous year, marking the largest annual decline on record, according to separate official data. 

Moreover, property sales and new construction starts, measured by floor area, fell 12.9 per cent and 23.0 per cent respectively in 2024, signalling persistent challenges for the Chinese real estate sector in the foreseeable future. 

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