Wednesday, June 10, 2009

China urban property prices fall less sharply in May


Source : Business Times – 10 Jun 2009

The average annual property price decline in Chinese cities was less sharp in May than in April, pointing to stabilisation in the market.

Property prices in 70 cities fell by 0.6 per cent in May from a year earlier compared with a drop of 1.1 per cent in the 12 months to April, the National Development and Reform Commission, the economic planning agency, said on Wednesday.

On a monthly basis, prices were up 0.6 per cent in May, compared with a rise of 0.4 per cent in April, the commission said on its website.

Annual real estate investment growth quickened to 6.8 per cent in the first five months, up from 4.9 per cent in the January-April period, the National Bureau of Statistics said, suggesting a significant pickup in capital spending in the sector in May.

Property investment is a major driver of China’s overall urban fixed-asset spending. Beijing last week lowered the requirement on registered capital for developers to start new projects, a move that helped boost market confidence.

The statistics office also said property sales nationwide increased by 25.5 per cent in the first five months, up from an annual growth of 17.5 in the first four months, sustaining an upward trend that started at the beginning of this year.


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