Government support measures in China’s largest cities have helped reignite home sales, but nationwide housing prices continue to drop as consumer confidence remains weak and sellers slash prices to close deals, reports Caixin. The average price of new homes in 70 large and midsize cities fell 0.4% in September from the previous month, the sharpest decline this year, according to data released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics. The drop in the secondhand market was even more pronounced, with prices falling across all 70 tracked cities—the first time this year that has occurred. Prices of pre-owned homes dropped 0.6% month-on-month.
Despite the price downturn, transaction volumes climbed in major cities that implemented supportive policies. In Beijing, 15,843 used homes were sold in September, an 18.8% increase from August, according to data from a real estate industry portal under the State Information Center. Shanghai saw used home sales rise 9.1% to 20,389 units, while Shenzhen reported an 8.9% increase to 4,546 units.
A similar trend played out in the new-home segment. While new-home prices in first-tier cities slipped 0.3% month-on-month, sales volumes jumped. Shenzhen led the rebound with a 37.2% surge in sales, while Shanghai posted a nearly 30% increase.