China home prices rise for fifth month in September, more cities see gains
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| Newly-built residential buildings are seen next to the partially-frozen Songhua River and a bridge in Jilin, Jilin province, |
Home prices in China rose for a fifth consecutive month in September, suggesting a mild recovery in the housing market that will relieve some pressure on the struggling economy.
The sector, which accounts for 15 percent of GDP, has become a rare bright spot in an economy that is expected to grow at its slowest pace in 25 years this year, but it may be some time before it begins contributing to broader activity again.
Average new home prices inched up 0.3 percent in September from August, according to Reuters calculations based on data released by the National Statistics Bureau (NBS) on Friday, the same pace as in August.
However, while home prices and sales have improved in recent months after a barrage of government support measures, conditions remain weak in smaller cities and a huge overhang of unsold houses is discouraging new investment and construction.
Data on Monday showed that growth in China's property investment in the first nine months of the year slowed to the lowest level since early 2009, while new construction in the same period continued to see a year-on-year drop.
Still, there are signs that property investment might be bottoming out, with new construction rising 15.3 percent in September from the same period a year ago, the first such growth in nearly a year, according to Reuters calculations based on official data.
