People view the sandbox model of a real estate project in Taiyuan, North China’s Shanxi Province, on June 17, 2024. Photo: VCG

China's real estate sector displayed positive momentum in November, with a growing number of major cities reporting an increase in home prices compared to October, as the latest barrage of pro-housing policies took effect.

According to a survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on 70 cities, 17 out of the 70 large and medium-sized cities in China saw an increase in selling prices for newly built commercial residential homes in November, an increase of 10 cities from a month earlier. Additionally, 10 cities reported a rise in second-hand residential prices, two more than in October.

Month-on-month, China's four first-tier cities saw home price increases, while home price decline in second- and third-tier cities narrowed, according to the NBS.

New home prices in Shanghai increased by 0.6 percent, while Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province saw a rise of 0.3 percent compared to October. Second-hand home prices rose by 0.9 percent in Beijing, by 0.4 percent in Shanghai, and by 0.5 percent in Shenzhen.

The year-on-year property price decline across the country narrowed for the first time this year in November, according to the NBS.

The four first-tier cities experienced a 4.3-percent drop in new home prices in November year-on-year, with the decline narrowing by 0.3 percentage points from a month earlier. The decline in second-hand home prices also narrowed by1.6 percentage points.

The country's second- and third-tier cities also registered narrower year-on-year drops in both new and second-hand home prices in November, the NBS added.

"In November, China's real estate market was more active, with improved market expectations. The property market has continued to show signs of reversing a downturn and stabilizing," said Fu Linghui, a spokesperson for the NBS, during a press conference on Monday.

The positive momentum is attributed to the stimulus policies implemented since September, with the four first-tier cities serving as the exemplary benchmark for the stabilization of the real estate market, Yan Yuejin, research director at Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute, told the Global Times on Monday.

The data from many cities indicate a significant improvement in home prices, both on a month-on-month and year-on-year basis, which points to a gradual stabilization of the important sector, Yan said.

Yan noted that the growing number of cities experiencing improved momentum is "closely tethered to growing buyer expectations of a sustained turning point in home prices."

Chinese authorities pledged in late September to reverse the property market downturn and stabilize the sector. The country has rolled out a slew of measures to prop up the market, including cutting mortgage rates, lowering down payment ratios and relaxing purchase restrictions.

In November, China unveiled incentives related to deed tax in property transactions to support people's housing needs. The minimum prepayment rate for land appreciation tax has also been reduced to ease the financial burden of real estate developers.

According to the annual Central Economic Work Conference last week, efforts should be continuously ratcheted up to further reverse the downturn of and stabilize the real estate market.

The meeting called for reasonably controlling the supply of newly added real estate land, and promoting the establishment of a new model for real estate development.

Global Times