New home prices in China rise at slightly faster pace

BEIJING Reuters -- New homes prices in China rose at a slightly faster pace in June from a month earlier, a private survey showed on Friday that small and medium-sized cities were easing policy easing measures to stimulate demand.

According to the data from China Index Academy, one of the country's largest independent real estate research firms, the new home prices in 100 cities increased 0.04%, up from the 0.03% gain in May.

China's depressed property market has shown signs of improvement in recent weeks. Stimulus steps this year have mainly focused on helping home buyers, including subsidies, smaller down payments, and relaxations on home purchases.

Major homebuilder China Vanke Co said this week that the property market has fallen in the short term, with a clear month-on-month rise in sales in June, helped in part by pent-up demand after months of COVID 19 restrictions. Chairman Yu Liang cautioned that the recovery will be slow and mild.

47 cities surveyed by the research firm reported price growth in month-over-month terms, compared to more than 40 cities in May.

In tier-two cities, including provincial capitals, prices rose by 0.14%, shortening from a 0.07% increase in May. The biggest growth was 0.68% in Xian, the capital of the northwestern province of Shaanxi.

The Academy said that local governments are likely to implement city-specific policies, like better terms for households with more than one child.

The property market is expected to rebound in the second half of the year as confidence in home buying will gradually recover due to easier COVID 19 curbs and other measures.