MNI BRIEF: China House Prices Up In February

Sales of newly built residential properties in China's first and second-tier cities saw a 0.1% m/m increase in February, a figure consistent with January, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics covering 70 large- and medium-sized cities on Monday.

Sales in third-tier cities declined by 0.3% m/m, marking a 0.1 percentage point deepening of the downturn compared to the previous month.

Prices of second-hand residential properties in first- and second-tier cities decreased by 0.1% and 0.4%, down from a 0.1% rise and 0.3% decline in January.

Second-hand residential properties in third-tier cities decreased by 0.4% m/m, unchanged from the previous month. 

China needs additional official support for its property market to consolidate a recent stabilisation in home sales, including faster moves to restructure real-estate developers to avoid large-scale defaults, a senior policy advisor told MNI. (See MNI INTERVIEW2: China Developers Need More Help To Consolidate)