BEIJING: China’s May property sales fell at a slower pace for the first time in three months, suggesting improved buyer sentiment in the sector after several easing measures taken by cities across the country to boost demand hit by COVID-19 curbs.
Property sales by floor area in May slumped 31.8 per cent from a year earlier, narrowing from the 39.0 per cent fall in April, according to Reuters calculations based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday (Jun 15).The market shows some positive developments despite the downward trend, said Fu Linghui, a spokesman at the statistics bureau, said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Shares of developers listed in mainland China surged, with the CSI 300 Real Estate Index up more than 5 per cent.
Since the beginning of the year, around 200 cities took easing steps mainly targeting home buyers, including smaller down payments, subsidies and relaxation on purchases for households with more than one child.
The property sector, a pillar of growth for China, fell sharply last year and deteriorated further in recent months as the world’s second-biggest economy weakened. For January to May, property sales were down 23.6 per cent.
“Although the rate of decline was lower compared to last month, the market remained sluggish,” partly due to COVID-19 outbreaks, said Zhang Dawei, chief analyst at property agency Centaline.
Source:CNA
