China property in bear market, says analyst

[SINGAPORE] Even as new home prices in Chinese cities continue its upward trend, Andy Xie, an independent analyst and formerly Asia economist for Morgan Stanley, maintained that China has entered a property bear market - one that he predicts will last for five years.

"Earlier this year, there was a bounce . . . after a (price) correction, people on the sidelines will start buying because there is some pent-up demand. So you will see prices pop up again . . . but I don't think it's the start of a new trend as some people describe," said Dr Xie in an interview with BT.

This is despite official data in September showing that new home prices rose in 69 of 70 major cities in August. According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, price increases ranged from 2.3 per cent to 19.3 per cent.