New house prices' rise slowing as property restrictions take effect

Models of residential buildings are seen at a sales center in Zhengzhou, Henan province, September 23, 2016.[Photo/VCG]

New house prices in China's 100 major cities rose 1.65 percent to 12,825 yuan ($1,882) per square meter, down 1.18 percentage points from the previous month, China Index Academy data showed.

Of the 100 cities surveyed last month, home prices climbed month on month in 79 places, two less than last month. At the same time, 21 cities reported month-on-month price drops, three more than the previous month.

The median price for a new home increased 2.2 percent from last month to 7,306 yuan, up 2.67 percent from a year ago.

More than 20 cities unveiled restrictive measures around the National Day holiday to promote the healthy development of property markets. That appears to be having a preliminary impact, the China Index Academy, a Chinese property research institute, said  in a report.

The restrictions varied from city to city, but included setting higher mortgage down payments for second and third-time home buyers, in a bid to stem the flow of cash into the hot property market.

In terms of demand, irrational speculative demand has been restrained, and sales in some of the most popular cities started to fall recently.

In respect of supply, property developers actively adjusted their marketing strategy and prices of some newly launched projects were pulled back, the report said.

In the future, policy control is likely to continue to impact the sector with supply and demand expected to return to normal levels, and home prices should become more stable by the end of the year, the China Index Academy said.