Beijing: The fall in Chinese house prices slowed in April, a survey showed on 1st May, after authorities loosened mortgage and tax policies in an attempt to boost the country`s slumping property market.
The average price of a new home in China`s 100 major cities edged down 0.01 percent month on month to 10,522 yuan ($1,695) per square metre, the China Index Academy (CIA) said in a report on its website.
That marked a sharp slowdown in the pace of decline from the 0.15 percent recorded in March, according to the report.
Home prices had declined for eight straight months until a slight increase of 0.21 percent in January, previous CIA figures showed, before dropping again from February.
Property investment is a key driver for China`s economy, while land sales are a major source of revenue for cash-strapped local governments, which have been feeling the pinch as the economy slows.
The once red-hot market has cooled to the extent that authorities now feel the need to support it.
The central People`s Bank of China (PBoC) in late March lowered minimum downpayment levels on second homes nationwide, rolling back a four-year-old policy first introduced to rein in soaring prices that were making home ownership unaffordable for many and raising worries over social unrest.
It also shortened the ownership period during which sellers are liable to a 20 percent capital gains tax on properties other than their main home.
The policy relaxation in March came after the PBoC eased mortgage policies in September. It has also cut benchmark interest rates twice since November and two times this year has reduced the percentage of funds banks must hold in reserve, in a bid to boost lending.
China`s economic growth slowed to 7.4 percent last year, the weakest in nearly a quarter of a century, and authorities have attempted through monetary policy to put a floor on the deceleration.
Analysts broadly expect policymakers will announce further easing this year.
In a year-on year basis house prices fell 4.46 percent in April, accelerating from 4.35 percent in March, according to CIA.
The average price in China`s top 10 cities was at 18,961 yuan per square meter, down 3.46 percent from a year ago, it said, accelerating from a decline of 3.19 percent in March.
