Sunday, December 22, 2024

Chinese house prices fall at fastest pace in a decade

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But Duncan Wrigley, chief China economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said these measures do not go far enough.

He said: “The re-lending facility probably isn’t large enough to support sufficient funding for local governments to buy up enough inventory.”

Property prices are “yet to bottom out”, Mr Wrigley warned. 

That is despite the number of new homes sold falling by 27.9pc last year, reflecting the huge drop-off in demand. 

Further cuts in mortgage interest rates expected

Yuting Yang, economist at Goldman Sachs in Asia, said she expected more government housing support in the coming months, such as further reductions in mortgage interest rates.

However, she warned that even this is unlikely to boost activity.

In a note to investors, Ms Yang said: “Considering persistent property weakness related to lower-tier cities and private developers, such easing measures may only lead to an ‘L-shaped’ recovering in the sector in coming years.”

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