New-home prices across 70 cities declined 0.17% from July, when they had slipped 0.18%, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday September 15.
Resale home values, which face less government intervention, fell 0.31%, a steeper drop than July’s 0.29% decline.
Also Read: China’s economic momentum stays weak as consumption falters
The figures came after Beijing announced sweeping policy changes on August 28 aimed at reviving the housing market, including plans to scrap the pre-sale model that had long dominated the sector. However, the timing meant these changes were too late to influence August’s numbers.
Moody’s Ratings said in a report this month that the package amounted to a structural reform rather than a short-term stimulus and would therefore offer only limited direct support to property sales in the near term.
They added that the changes could help restore confidence in the housing market over time.
The recent measures also included steps to push developers towards delivering completed homes rather than relying on pre-sales, along with support for developers to raise funds through equity and bond sales. Homebuyers were also granted access to longer mortgages, with the maximum term extended from 30 years to 40 years.
According to a Bloomberg report last week, the longer loan terms were not expected to halt the decline in home sales, which was forecast to continue into 2028. The report noted that age and collateral restrictions would limit the credit to only a small group of borrowers, and that the policy did not address the risk of equity losses if prices continued to fall.Local governments had also introduced measures to ease the downturn, though these were largely limited in scope. Last month, Beijing eased homebuying restrictions for non-residents, joining Shanghai in lifting rules that had been in place for a decade.
Also Read: Explainer-How China is preparing for the risk of AI escaping human control
Even in wealthier tier-one cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, where prices had risen for most of the year, momentum slowed. Used-home prices across the four biggest cities rose 0.08% on average in August, down from a 0.23% gain in July.
The sales overhaul was also expected to raise developers’ financing costs in the short term by restricting their access to funds until projects were completed, adding pressure to local government revenues that have long depended on land sales.
With Bloomberg Inputs
(Edited by : Gautham Krishna)