China's property prices index for October showed that new home prices fell month to month in 69 of 70 cities and the average was down 2.6 per cent from a year ago. In September, new home prices also fell in 69 cities with the average down 1.3 per cent from a year ago - the first annual decline in two years.
Much has been made of semi-inhabited, grandiose development projects that have seen many mid-sized Chinese cities suffer from a glut of apartments, putting pressure on prices. But check this out: in Beijing in October, prices fell 1.3 per cent, reversing a modest 0.4 per cent gain registered in September. In Shanghai the decline accelerated from a 0.8 per cent decrease to a 2 per cent fall.
China's property companies have been escalating promotional efforts and cutting prices in a bid to maintain sales volumes.