Home price growth slows over 8 months

Home price growth in cities across China has slowed for eight consecutive months, and some key cities experienced declining average home prices in May as more cities introduced stricter measures against speculation, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Monday.

According to Liu Jianwei, a senior statistician with the NBS, which monitors home prices in 70 cities in China, average new home price growth in first-tier cities dropped 2.2 percent month-on-month, and average pre-owned home price growth in first-tier cities declined 1.7 percent.

In second-tier cities, average new home price growth dropped 0.8 percent, and pre-owned home price growth went down 0.5 percent.

As for pre-owned home prices, Beijing decreased the most, at 0.9 percent month-on-month, followed by Sanya, a coastal city in Hainai province, down 0.5 percent month-on-month.

Analysts said home price declines are not surprising in cities which experienced fast price growth in recent years. Rising lending costs, declining yields from rentals, and stricter home purchase regulations are driving hot money away from the residential property market in these cities.

According to data from Beijing's housing authorities, around 10,000 pre-owned homes were transacted in May, the lowest in the past 27 months.

"Tightened lending is the major reason for speculators moving away from the residential property market. Lending to buyers of second homes in Shanghai was almost suspended in Shanghai," said Ma Xiao, a real estate agent with Shanghai Ruifeng Property Ltd.