China's property market sees stable prices as sentiment improves

The real estate market in China has shown more signs of warming amid stable home prices and improvements in market expectations, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

Following the rollout of a comprehensive package of incremental policies in 2024, China's property market has seen more active trading and an improved supply-demand relationship, Kang Yi, head of the NBS, told a press conference.

In the fourth quarter, new commercial housing sales achieved growth in terms of both area and volume, Kang added, noting that the area and volume of new commercial housing sales for the October-December period reversed the previous trend of continuous decline by gaining 0.5 percent and 1 percent year on year, respectively.

Kang went on to add that the continued release of demand for both rigid and improved housing has enhanced the market supply and demand relationship, resulting in the stabilization of home prices.

Friday's data showed that among the 70 large and medium-sized cities, 23 saw month-on-month increases in new home prices in December, and nine registered rising prices for resold homes compared to the previous month.

In the four first-tier Chinese cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, prices of new homes marked the first increase since June 2023 by gaining 0.2 percent from the previous month, while that of resold homes saw a 0.3 percent increase, up for the third straight month, according to Kang.

While the home prices for second and third-tier cities recorded narrowing decreases in December, the decline in home prices across all city tiers also further narrowed on a yearly basis, NBS data showed.

According to Kang, the cumulative effects of policy measures have led to a series of improvements in key indicators of the property sector, steadily boosting market confidence.

A monthly survey conducted in December across 70 major and medium-sized cities revealed that 69.3 percent of respondents expect the prices of new homes to remain stable or rise in the next six months, an increase of 0.8 percentage points from the previous month.

The real estate market recovery has had a positive impact on related industries, the official noted, citing a rise in the business activity expectation index for the construction sector for the third consecutive month, amid improved sales of furniture, as well as building and decoration materials.

"Overall, the real estate market is expected to continue improving in the next phase," Kang said.