BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s new home sales rose sharply in February from a slump in the previous month, buoyed by a rise in demand in small and medium-sized cities after the scrapping of COVID curbs and supportive property policies, a private survey showed on Monday.
New home sales by floor area in 16 selected Chinese cities rose 31.9% month-on-month in February, compared with a fall of 34.3% in January, according to China Index Academy, one of the country’s largest independent real estate research firms.
China’s property sector has been grappling with a severe liquidity crisis last year – initially triggered by government moves to rein in ballooning debt – with many developers defaulting on or delaying debt payments and falls in sales.
While policymakers have since rolled out supportive measures for the sector since late November, the sector has seen a near-term recovery in sales amid slow economic growth.
In monthly terms, home sales rose 63.8% in tier-three cities, up 43.9% and 5.0% in tier-two cities and tier-one cities, respectively, said the firm.
Total new home inventory among seven cities selected by the academy fell 1.00% from a month earlier. Mega cities Shenzhen and Beijing saw inventory declines of 4.89% and 3.01%, separately.
(Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Louise Heavens)
