China's Feb Second-Hand Home Prices Narrows for Seventh Straight Month
The average price of second-hand residential properties across 100 Chinese cities fell by 0.4% month-on-month in February, following a "Mini Spring" rally that has boosted property transactions in major urban centres, where sales of the top 100 Chinese real estate companies increased an annual 17.3% in February. The narrowing decline marks the seventh consecutive month of price reductions, as policy support and the traditional marketing season sustain the stabilisation trend in the housing market. Despite a year-on-year fall of 7.3%, average prices are still higher than pre-pandemic levels.
- This modest easing in second-hand home prices suggests that the Chinese property market is slowly regaining momentum after the COVID-19 pandemic's disruption, but may not be out of the woods yet.
- Will the sustainability of this trend depend on whether government policies to promote housing demand continue to be effective in addressing supply chain issues and encouraging new construction?