Reuters reports that data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that China’s new home prices stalled for the first time since February 2020 in September, as the chill in the property market intensified amid tightening credit due to an ongoing crackdown on speculative investment.
The average new home price in 70 major Chinese cities was unchanged in September month-on-month, compared with 0.2% growth in August.
The data showed 27 cities reported month-on-month gains, compared with 46 in August, the lowest since February 2020 at the height of China’s COVID-19 outbreak.
In September, some cities intensified their campaigns to drive speculators out of the property market. The tougher restrictions, along with tighter rules on borrowing for property purchases, have weighed on near-term demand, analysts said.
Compared with a year earlier, China’s new home prices grew 3.8% in September, the slowest in nine months, easing from a 4.2% increase in August.