China’s National Bureau of Statistics will publish house price data for February on Friday, providing a vital update on the country’s ailing property market.
Real estate has become one of the largest drags on both investor and consumer sentiment in China, with house prices posting sequential declines for all but two of the last 21 months. But in January, prices fell just 0.4 per cent — a slight improvement on December’s drop.
Housing was once Chinese consumers’ first choice for an investment vehicle to park their savings. The real estate sector was also previously responsible for about a quarter of economic activity and land sales to developers long funded local government. Now, with falling prices and a liquidity crunch still weighing on developers, house prices have contracted, denting consumer confidence at a time when Beijing needs greater demand to help bolster the economy and combat deflation.