China new home sales rise sharply in March: Survey
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New home sales in 14 surveyed cities rose 55.7 per cent month on month, up from growth of 31.9 per cent in February.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
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BEIJING – China’s new home sales rose sharply in March, as a slew of support policies boosted a pickup in demand across the board in 14 cities, a private survey showed on Monday.
The sales of new homes rose 55.7 per cent month on month, up from growth of 31.9 per cent in February, according to data from the China Index Academy – one of the country’s largest independent real estate researchers.
Tier-one cities – including capital Beijing and the commercial hub of Shanghai – rose the fastest, jumping 73 per cent last month. Sales in tier-two cities grew 54.7 per cent, while tier-three cities saw a 28.6 per cent gain.
The data will be welcome news for the sector, once the pillar of China’s economic growth, but which had been crushed by several crises since mid-2021, including developers’ debt defaults and stalled construction of pre-sold housing projects.
Policymakers in the country had introduced a comprehensive bailout package at the end of last year to propel sales and enable project completions, which helped improve the sentiment.
Shares of real estate developers gained 2.4 per cent on Monday.
The industry has also seen some gradual recovery in recent weeks, as home buyers look to make a return after Beijing abandoned its stringent zero-Covid policy in December.
Local governments, too, continued to ease property curbs or roll out stimulus polices to improve buyer sentiment. The south-eastern city of Xiamen relaxed home-buying curbs, allowing more residents to purchase properties.
Prices of new homes in 100 Chinese cities rose at the fastest pace in nine months in March, a separate survey by the researcher showed on Saturday. REUTERS
