China: Housing market remains depressed in May
House prices in 70 large- and medium-sized cities decreased 0.1% month-on-month in May, according to a weighted average index calculated by Refinitiv from data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The print followed April’s 0.2% fall.
Meanwhile, house prices decreased 0.1% annually in May, down from April’s 0.7% increase. Annual average growth in house prices slowed to 2.7% in May, from 3.1% in the previous month.
Other housing market indicators pointed to subdued dynamics. In the year to May, sales of commercial buildings, new residential housing starts and real estate developer funding fell at even steeper paces than in the year to April. Moreover, national real estate investment declined 4.0% in the year to May. Stop-start Covid-19 restrictions and debt-distressed developers will likely keep the property market subdued in the near term, notwithstanding recent cuts to mortgage rates and the partial rollback of property market curbs.