China home prices up 0.3% in August, rise for 4th month

[BEIJING] Average new home prices in China rose for the fourth month in a row in August, increasing 0.3 per cent from July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Friday.

Compared with a year earlier, home prices were still down 2.3 per cent in August, but eased from a 3.7 per cent drop in July, according to Reuters calculations based on the NBS data.

New home prices in Shanghai rose 5.6 per cent in August from a year ago while those in Beijing increased 3.0 per cent.

Helped by a barrage of government support measures, home sales and prices have gradually improved in recent months after weakening last year, offering hope that the sector is becoming less of a drag on the broader economy, which is expected to expand this year at its slowest pace in 25 years.

However, new construction and investment remain weak, and analysts say a full-blown property recovery is unlikely any time soon due to a large oversupply of homes in many cities outside Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

REUTERS