BEIJING (Reuters) -The average price of resale homes across 100 Chinese cities fell by 0.7% month-on-month in April, a report by a Chinese real estate research institute said, as more residential properties came onto the market boosting competition for buyers.
“Price cuts to drive sales remained the market norm,” the China Index Academy wrote in the report published on its official WeChat social media account on Thursday.
It said there were a relatively high number of listings in core cities last month following the lifting of resale restrictions in some cities.
As 70% of China’s household wealth is held in real estate signs of stabilisation or even a mild rebound in the property market, which accounted for about a quarter of the economy at its peak, could help cushion China’s economy from the impact of a renewed trade war with the United States.
Some analysts estimate average home prices have slumped by 20-30% since a peak in August 2021 amid a protracted property crisis.
Resale home prices began falling more steeply in February, the data shows, following a seven-month run of narrowing declines.
Prices of existing homes fell 7.2% year-on-year on average in April, the report said, while the average price of new builds in the same 100 cities increased by 2.5% over the same period.
(Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Kate Mayberry)