Soft spots emerging in property market data

Prices of pre-owned homes reflect 'change of thinking' by some buyers

Property prices continued to increase in February, but there were signs of cooling in the pre-owned home market, according to figures released on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics.

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Only four out of 70 cities had a month-on-month price decline last month, and nine were flat, the NBS said.

In January, prices fell month-on-month in six cities and were flat in two other cities.

On an annual basis, prices fell in only one city - Wen-zhou in Zhejiang province - which is also what happened in January.

Shanghai, where prices rose 18.7 percent, led the 70-city list, followed by Shenzhen and Guangzhou (15.9 percent in each case) and Beijing (15.5 percent).

Wenzhou recorded the largest year-on-year decline of 4.1 percent.

In the pre-owned home market, prices rose in 46 cities last month, with 15 recording a decline and nine staying flat. Compared with January, two more cities experienced declines.

"As a barometer of the market, the change in the pre-owned home market is a more direct reflection of the change in the thinking of potential buyers," said Guo Yi, an analyst with the Beijing-based Yahao Real Estate Selling & Consulting Solution Agency.

Analysts said the latest figures indicate that property bubbles in some second- and third-tier cities have been deflating.

"This is consistent with our forecast that house price inflation will moderate in 2014, due to continued credit tapering and supply adjustment," said Zhu Haibin, an economist with JPMorgan. "Regional differentiation will remain the main theme through this year."

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