New | China’s February home prices rise at flat pace
February’s average new-home prices jumped 12.4 per cent from last year, but rose 0.4 per cent from a month earlier.
China’s February home prices rose, although at a flat pace compared with a month earlier, as a slew of restrictive policies by local authorities deterred speculative buying and caused capital to flow from the biggest cities to smaller outlying urban centres.
February home prices in China’s 70 largest cities jumped 12.4 per cent from a year ago. Compared to a month earlier, February prices rose 0.4 per cent after seasonal adjustments by Goldman Sachs, based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
“Overall, average housing price growth appeared to be resilient despite the tightening measures in top tier cities,” Goldman Sachs said in a research report. “More tightening measures may come should price inflation remain strong,” the investment bank said.
As many as 56 cities recorded price increases, a higher proportion than the 45 in January, according to the statistics bureau.
February new home prices jumped 22.1 per cent from last year in the Chinese capital , while Guangzhou’s prices soared 23.1 per cent.
Five additional cities launched new measures since Friday to cool down the red-hot home market.
On Friday, Beijing, Guangzhou, Zhengzhou and Shijiazhuang all announced additional tightening measures for new homes.
