Housing market continues to rebound

A Chinese employee introduces models of residential apartment buildings to a homebuyer during a real estate fair in Lanzhou city, northwest China's Gansu province, May 16, 2015. [Photo/IC]

China's housing market continued to heal with home prices rising in June for a second month in a row, two private research agencies said on Wednesday.

Home prices in 100 cities rose 0.56 percent month-on-month to 10,628 yuan per square meter, 0.11 percentage points higher than May, said the China Index Academy, the research unit of SouFun Holdings Ltd. That helped home prices end the first half of 2015 up 0.82 per cent, despite a 0.18 percent dip in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, according to Shanghai-headquartered consultancy China Real Estate Information Corp, the average new home prices are up 0.28 percent in June among China's 288 cities.

A string of policy easing measures filtered through, indicating the government's support is sustaining a recovery into the second half of this year to aid economic growth.

The latest interest rate cut by the central bank last Saturday will strengthen the willingness to buy property, the China Index Academy said.

"Inventories in first-tier cities and some second-tier cities will lower, sustaining a home price rise caused by the housing cost reduction to boost housing sales," the China Index Academy added. "Cities facing high inventory levels will still need to sacrifice price to promote sales."