Is China's Real Estate Market Stabilizing? ... Decline in Major City Housing Prices Pauses

[Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] As the decline rate of new housing prices in China has decreased for two consecutive months, expectations are growing that the Chinese real estate market may have passed its worst phase.

According to Bloomberg on the 21st, the new housing prices (excluding government subsidies) in 70 major Chinese cities announced by the National Bureau of Statistics of China fell by only 0.04% compared to the previous month. This is a slowdown in the decline rate compared to 0.28% in December last year.

Another foreign media outlet reported that without mentioning whether government subsidies were excluded, the new housing prices in 70 major cities in January rose by 0.1% compared to December last year, marking the first price increase since September last year. It also added that the number of cities with rising housing prices increased from 15 in December last year to 28 in January this year.

There is an analysis that the decline in housing prices is showing signs of stabilization as Chinese authorities somewhat eased regulations on the real estate market in the fourth quarter of last year.

A market official said, "Since the fourth quarter of last year, financial and credit conditions have somewhat improved, and the downward trend in housing prices is moving away from its worst phase."

However, there are also remarks that it is still too early to be reassured.

On the 18th, Zhengluo Real Estate Group hinted at a default risk by stating that it might not be able to repay its debts on time.

Another market official added that homebuyers are still cautious, and housing transactions in major cities are not active even in February.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.