Mainland Chinese developers’ hopes for a better start to the new year received a boost as home sales picked up towards the end of 2024, following Chinese authorities’ pledge to “stop prices from sinking further”.
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Across 30 major mainland cities, average home sales jumped 86 per cent in the fourth quarter from the previous three-month period, according data from China Real Estate Information Corp (CRIC).
Home sales in the top four tier-one cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen – rose 35 per cent in December from a year earlier, according to CRIC. Compared with the monthly average in the third quarter, sales in December surged 80 per cent, the data showed.
For the year, new home sales in the 30 sample cities fell 23 per cent from 2023, narrowing the decline by 3.75 percentage points in the first 11 months, CRIC data showed.
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“It is one of the most important signals for the new cycle of ‘stabilisation’,” said Ding Zuyu, executive director of E-House China Enterprise Holdings. “An [upwards] trend, instead of a transitory sentiment following the easing policies, has been demonstrated.”
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Ding said although a correction will be seen in 2025, new home prices are expected to pick up and reach 2019 levels and prices of second-hand homes will reach 2017 levels.