New home prices in China fell 2.2% in March on a year-over-year basis, the steepest decline since August 2015. It was the ninth consecutive month of declines, much steeper than February’s -1.4%. Prices fell 0.3% month-on-month, in line with February’s decline.
China’s real estate sector, which accounts for nearly a quarter of the economy, has been engulfed in a debt crisis since 2021, after a regulatory crackdown on high leverage among developers triggered a liquidity crisis, with a series of them last month reporting weaker financial results for 2023. Chinese authorities have stepped up measures to support the ailing sector, including easing curbs on home purchases, supporting the renovation of urban villages and banks’ push to speed up the approval of new loans for cash-strapped developers.
But the sector continues to show weakness, with real estate investment falling 9.5% year-on-year in the first quarter. The area of new commercial buildings sold was 226.68 million square meters, a decline of 19.4% year-on-year.
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
