(Bloomberg) – China’s home prices fell for an eighth straight month in April, as measures to ease a property slump amid the coronavirus pandemic failed to revive buyer confidence.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed that the price of new commercial housing in 70 major cities excluding affordable housing fell 0.3 percent in April from a month earlier, the biggest drop in five months. The secondary market, which is less subject to government intervention, fell 0.28%.
The steeper decline is another blow to the struggling real estate sector, which has been hit by strict lockdowns and a liquidity crisis among developers. The Chinese government has vowed to support the property market as part of an effort to stem a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.
Nomura economists led by Lu Ting wrote in a report earlier this week that rising uncertainty, lack of confidence, rising unemployment and falling income growth have all contributed to the pressure on the domestic market.
The People’s Bank of China rarely lowered the lower limit of the first-home loan interest rate on Sunday. Local authorities have offered a variety of housing incentives, including lower down payment requirements and even encouraging families with more children to own multiple properties.
The measures have done little to stem the housing downturn, which was exacerbated by China’s harsh response to the latest wave of the virus. Residential sales fell 49% in April from a year earlier to the lowest level since late 2015, official data showed on Monday.
“Weak homebuyer confidence remains a key hurdle, with the pandemic adding to the near-term threat,” Bloomberg Industry Research analysts including Kristy Hung wrote in a note ahead of the data. “Sentiment will only improve if liquidity from distressed developers improves, which looks unlikely in the short term without stronger policy support.”
original title
China Home Prices Drop for Eighth Month as Lockdowns Take Toll
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