Chinese Home Prices Post Fastest Growth in Nearly Two Years

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Chinese home price growth has accelerated to its fastest rate in nearly two years, as Beijing launches economic support measures amidst escalating Sino-US trade tensions.

Average new home prices in 70 major cities in China saw a 1.4% on-month rise in August as compared to the July reading of 1.1%, according to calculations by Reuters based on official data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The August growth rate marks the biggest increase since September 2016, as well as the 40th consecutive month of home price gains in China.

New home prices saw a 7% gain compared to the same period a year ago, as compared to a YoY rise of 5.8% in July.

China’s four largest cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou saw an average on-month home price increase of 0.3%, as compared a 0.2% rise in July.

NBS data further indicates that 67 out of 70 cities monitored saw an on-month home price increase, as compared to 65 in July.

Only one city monitored – the Fujian coastal city of Xiaman, posted a monthly price decline.

The rise in Chinese home prices comes despite the launch of strict property market controls by municipal governments since the start of 2017, as well as continued signalling from Beijing on the need to maintain or intensify such measures.

Concerns over the potential impacts of trade tensions with the US have prompted Beijing to loosen the reins on liquidity and credit, with data from the Chinese central bank indicating that household loans, comprised in the main of mortgages, rose to 701.2 billion yuan in August from 634.4 billion yuan in July, accounting for 54.8% of total new lending that month.

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