China: Growth in house prices inches up in August
House prices in 70 large- and medium-sized cities increased 0.6% in August in month-on-month terms according to a weighted average index calculated by Refinitiv from data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The print was above the 0.5% rise in July. According to the NBS, the sale price of newly constructed residential buildings increased in 59 of the 70 cities (59 in July).
House prices increased 4.8% annually in August, matching July’s result. Annual average growth in house prices fell from 6.3% in July to 6.0% in August.
Putting July’s reading in context, Ting Lu, Lisheng Wang and Jing Wang, economists at Nomura, noted:
“The slight increase in property price inflation suggests market conditions in the property markets remain decent. However, we believe over-heating risks are quite limited, given Beijing’s increasingly cautious stance on the property sector.”