BEIJING: China’s new home price growth slowed in February from the previous month as a raft of government curbs aimed at tempering speculative demand softened prices in the biggest cities, although strength seen in smaller centers remained intact.
Average new home prices in China’s 70 major cities rose 0.2 percent in February from the previous month, compared with an increase of 0.3 percent in January, Reuters’ calculations from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data on Monday showed.
Shenzhen’s new home prices fell 0.6 percent month-on-month, after it stabilized in January. Beijing prices declined 0.3 percent after posting a 0.2 percent increase in the previous month, data showed.
“I think the policies currently in place (to curb speculation) are effective in a way that they made prices fall slightly in prime markets,” said ING economist Iris Pang.
The majority of the 70 cities surveyed by the NBS still reported monthly price increases for new homes although the number has dropped from the previous month. Forty-four cities reported higher prices in February, down from January’s 52.
The declines in the four top-tier cities contrast with a steady rise in prices in China’s vast spread of smaller cities. The fastest price gain was seen in Nanchong, a lower-tier city of about 6 million in Southwestern China’s Sichuan province, where values of new homes rose 1.7 percent on-month in February.
