A worker works at the construction site of a residential area in Jiangdong New Area of Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Sept. 2, 2022.(Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)
BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Major Chinese cities generally reported rising home prices last month, indicating a steady recovery of the country's property market, official data showed Saturday.
In March, 64 out of 70 large and medium-sized cities saw month-on-month increases in new home prices, up from 55 in February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Meanwhile, 57 cities witnessed higher resale home prices, up from 40 in February.
New home prices in four first-tier cities -- Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou -- went up 0.3 percent in March, compared with a 0.2-percent growth in February.
In 31 second-tier cities, prices of new homes gained 0.6 percent, picking up pace from the 0.4-percent increase a month earlier. New housing in 35 third-tier cities saw prices up 0.3 percent, the same growth rate with February.
Encouraging signs were also seen in the second-hand market as prices went up 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent month on month in first and second-tier cities, respectively, while a 0.2-increase was registered in third-tier cities.
Year on year, new home prices in the four first-tier cities rose 1.7 percent last month, while resale home prices rose 1.1 percent.
Xu Xiaole, a senior analyst with China's real estate brokerage platform Beike, said that the rebound came as government policies to stabilize the property market took effect gradually, and people's rigid housing demand and demand for housing improvement were further satisfied.
Echoing Xu's point, E-house China R&D Institute said in a research note that the warming market suggested that market confidence rebounded, and the property market is on track to recovery.
As a pillar of the economy, the property sector combined with the construction industry contributes 13 percent of the country's gross domestic product.
China's property market went through a tough year in 2022, pounded by factors such as COVID-19 resurgences, dented market sentiment, and shrinking demand.
Policymakers have rolled out a flurry of supportive measures to shore up the industry, including encouraging commercial banks to grant loans to fund real estate projects and allowing cities to adjust the lower limit for first-home mortgage rates.
This year's government work report pledged efforts to prevent unregulated expansion in the real estate market and promote stable development.
Thanks to these efforts, positive changes have been seen in the real estate market. Aside from the apparent stabilization in property prices, the decline in investment and sales in real estate narrowed during the first two months of this year compared with 2022.
Ni Hong, minister of housing and urban-rural development, said that he "has full confidence" in the steady recovery of China's property market during the country's "two sessions" in March.
Housing is for living in and not for speculation, real housing demand should be guaranteed, and sharp ups and downs in the market should be avoided, Ni said, noting that the property market recovery should also be in line with high-quality development.
A single purchase
