![The photo shows an apartment complex in Beijing.](https://cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/XQWWMXRVKNKGFILR6EY4KGWYAQ.jpg)
An apartment complex photographed in Beijing, China on December 16, 2017. Photographed on December 16, 2017.REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo Obtaining license rights
SHANGHAI, Oct 1 (Reuters) – China’s new home prices rose slightly in September, breaking a four-month decline, data showed on Sunday. This is because developers have taken advantage of a series of recent support measures to accelerate their launches.
According to a survey by real estate research firm China Index Academy, prices have fallen since May, but rose by an average of 0.05% month-on-month. Only 30 of the 100 cities surveyed reported a decline in new home prices.
The company said in a report that this was the largest month-on-month increase since October 2021 as developers launched new high-quality housing projects.
Confidence in the real estate sector, which accounts for a quarter of economic activity, has taken a hit since 2021, when the Chinese government cracked down on debt accumulation by developers, fueling a debt crisis. Worsening problems in the sector this year are dragging down the world’s second-largest economy and roiling global financial markets.
China has announced a number of measures in recent weeks to boost home-buying sentiment, including relaxing some borrowing rules and easing restrictions on home purchases in some cities.
These policies have led to a slight increase in new home sales in big cities such as Beijing, but some fear the improvements will be short-lived and could dry up demand in smaller cities.
If such policy optimization continues, the market in first-tier cities is likely to stabilize this quarter, but recovery in smaller cities may take longer, the report said.
China Evergrande Group (3333.HK), the world’s most indebted property developer with more than $300 billion in debt, announced Thursday that its founder is being investigated for criminal charges.
Reporting by Brenda Goh and Liangping Gao.Editing: William Mallard
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