Property price growth reverses in some cities in May

Prices of existing homes fell month-on-month in 23 of the 70 cities monitored in May, showing that restrictions aimed at cooling the property market had started to take effect, Bloomberg reported. This compares with a drop in 16 cities in April. Prices of existing homes in Beijing fell 0.2% from April, while those in Shanghai increased 0.2%. The price of new homes, meanwhile, rose in 67 of 70 cities in May. On an annual basis, the price of new homes rose 2.1% and 1.4% in Beijing and Shanghai, respectively. Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook on Chinese developers to “negative” from “stable” on June 15, on the back of tighter credit and government restrictions on mortgages and house sales.