New home prices rise for second straight month, but smaller cities still face glut

Average new home prices in China rose 0.4% in June over May, marking the second consecutive month of gains for the struggling property sector, Reuters reported, citing new figures from the National Bureau of Statistics. But wealthier cities led the gains as most third-tier cities saw prices continue falling, with high inventories of unsold homes in smaller cities around the country continuing to weigh heavily on local economies. Official data also showed China’s unsold floor space totaled 657.4 million square meters at the end of June, up 20.8% from the same period a year ago.