MORE Chinese cities reported falling home prices in October, official data showed Thursday. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said 56 of 70 large and medium-sized cities saw month-on-month drops in new home prices, up from 54 in September. While 67 registered price declines for second-hand homes, compared with 65 in the previous month. In the four first-tier cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, prices of new homes, while unchanged in September, edged down last month, and that of resold homes turned to drops from marginal increases. Home prices in 31 second-tier cities and 35 third-tier cities in general also went down in October from a month earlier. On a year-on-year basis, prices of new and resold homes witnessed mixed performances in Chinese cities. The number of cities which saw drops in new home prices was up from 45 to 47 in October, and those with lower prices for second-hand homes remained flat at 67. China’s property sector is still in the process of adjustment during a transformation, with continued drops in both investment and sales. But signs of improvement are also visible as the government has rolled out an array of supportive measures for the housing market, NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua said. Favorable policies unveiled in recent months included lower interest rates on existing mortgages for first-home loans and easing mortgage rules. Given China’s urbanization potential and sufficient housing demand, a new property development model will gradually take shape and the property market will see stable, sound and high-quality development in the future, Liu said. (Xinhua) | 