Investing.com – China’s home prices remained steady in February, but prices in big cities declined, a statement from the National Statistics Bureau (NBS) unveiled on Monday.
The average price of new homes in 70 cities grew 0.2% m/m in February, compared with a 0.06% m/m decrease in January. Compared with the same period from last year, they rose 5.2% in February, versus a 5.0% gain in January, the NBS data showed.
However, the data also indicated that the country’s home prices rose in fewest cities in five months, as the government’s campaign to curb housing market speculation started to bear fruit.
Earlier this month, an NPC spokesman said the authority was in the process of drafting a property tax bill, while the country’s top banking regulator again called for more measures to reduce household debt.
Among the four top-tier cities, home prices slipped 0.3% on-year in Beijing, 0.6% in Shanghai and 2.5% in Shenzhen, although prices rose 3.1% in Guangzhou.
Home price growth began to slow down in the second half of 2017 as the government imposed several measures to deal with the bubbles in its property markets, following rapid expansions that lasted more than two years.
Nanchong, a lower-tier city of about 6 million in Southwestern China’s Sichuan province, recorded the fastest price gain as it saw a 1.7% m/m growth in new home prices in February.
Price growth in tier-3 cities in general was unchanged from January, the NBS said, without giving details.
44 cities reported higher prices in February, down from January’s 52.
Shares of Hong Kong-listed Chinese developers fell following the report. Evergrande Real Estate (HK:3333) plunged 2.7%, China Vanke Co Ltd (HK:2202) dropped 1.9% and Country Garden Holdings Company Ltd (HK:2007) fell 2.2%.