For a second consecutive month, China’s new home prices remained flat in April compared to the previous month, perpetuating a stagnant trend that has extended nearly two years, as revealed by official data on Monday.
This persistent lack of growth comes despite a series of policy interventions aimed at breathing life back into the real estate sector—a once-critical economic growth engine now in a prolonged slump.
Since May 2023, new home prices have failed to increase, reflecting the challenges China faces in reviving its real estate market. Year-on-year, prices in April showed a 4.0% decline, despite a marginal improvement from a 4.5% drop in the previous month, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics.
In response to mounting trade tensions with the United States, Beijing has recently introduced numerous stimulus measures to shore up the economy. These include reductions in mortgage costs for some buyers to revive the property market crisis that first emerged in 2021.
However, heavily indebted developers continue to struggle with debt repayment and pre-sold home deliveries, further eroding confidence in the sector.
Resale home prices exhibited declines across all city tiers—tier-one, tier-two, and tier-three—both on a monthly and annual basis. Moreover, other official figures indicated a 10.3% year-on-year fall in property investment and a 2.8% contraction in sales by floor area from January to April.
At a prominent press conference earlier this month, the head of China’s financial regulator vowed to implement additional measures to maintain the “stabilizing trend of the property sector.” Concurrently, the central bank has lowered the interest rate for housing provident fund loans by 25 basis points, effective May 8, reducing borrowing costs for some purchasers.
