China’s home prices return to growth in March as pandemic impact starts to ease

New home prices in China returned to growth in March after stalling for the first time in five years in February, suggesting some pent-up demand as the impact from the coronavirus outbreak on the property market gradually fades, reported Reuters.

Average new home prices in China’s 70 major cities edged up 0.1% in March from the previous month, having been unchanged in February, according to Reuters calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data published on Thursday.

On a year-on-year basis, home prices grew 5.3% in March, the slowest pace since June 2018, easing from a 5.8% uptick in February. The majority of the 70 cities surveyed by the NBS still reported monthly price increases for new homes, with the number rising to 38 from 21 in February.

China’s major property developers, such as Evergrande, have been launching discounts and promotions to spur sales. Latest data from researcher CRIC shows sales of the top 100 developers surged 136.2% last month from February.