The latest on China's property sector and good news for homebuyers with Chinese home prices falling in March from a year ago by seven-tenths of a percent.

Now, this is the first annual drop since the government launched its campaign of curbing measures two years ago, aimed at cooling the runaway property market.

Among the 70 cities surveyed by the National Bureau of Statistics, new home prices in March fell in 38 cities, stayed the same in 3 cities, and rose in 29 cities, compared to a year earlier. And for 29 cities where home prices rose on year, 21 saw growth slower compared with February.

Hu Jinghui, vice president of 5J5J Real Estate said, "The property market figures show the government's tightening policies are taking effect. We saw an overall trend of price corrections."

The NBS said March new home prices fell 0.8 percent from a year earlier in both Beijing and Shanghai, the second consecutive month of annual declines and a sharper fall than February's 0.4 percent decline in both cities.

Hu said, "I think we don't need to worry too much about both the property market and the overall economy. This year a lot of affordable housing projects kicked off, they will also drive demand in steel cement and other related consumption. Meanwhile many cities are actively developing commercial real estate sector. Their growth will be a new highlight this year."

Some analysts say the falling trend in prices reflects government's ongoing tightening policies are unlikely to change this year. But they say, the government should try to meet the demand of first-home buyers and provide differentiated preferential policies.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)