Mansion Global

New Home Prices in Shanghai Decline For First Time in Almost Two Years

Prices in all top-tier Chinese cities level off as cooling measures start taking their toll

Save

New home prices in Shanghai dipped 0.1% in November.

Fei Yang / Getty Images
New home prices in Shanghai dipped 0.1% in November.
Fei Yang / Getty Images

Prices of new homes in Shanghai fell 0.1% in November from the previous month, the first decline since February 2015, according to a government report released Monday, signaling that the overheated property market in China’s financial center might soon begin to cool.

Across China’s 19 top-tier cities,  new home prices fell 0.4% compared with October, according to the monthly report by China’s National Bureau of Statistics.

More:Canal Bank: A Gated Area Near Beijing With Unrivaled Access to Green Space

In addition to the end of Shanghai’s 21-month-long streak of price increases last month, the market for new homes in Beijing also became less competitive, as prices remained flat. In addition, prices fell 0.3% month-over-month in Shenzhen, one of the country’s hottest property markets. Meanwhile, Guangzhou posted a 0.9 percent gain in prices for new homes.

On an annual basis, new home prices in top-tier cities increased 1%, while resale prices flattened out.


Mansion Global is now on LinkedIn. Join the discussion.

Local Chinese governments started to take cooling measures in March 2013,  but about 20 local governments introduced further measures in late September to rein in runaway prices, including raising the threshold for down payments and restricting non-residents from buying second homes.

Overall, new home prices in 55 out of the 70 medium- and large-sized cities the government tracks reported an increase from October, when 62 cities reported price gains. New home prices were unchanged in four cities while 11 cities saw a price drop, according to the report.

Write to Fang Block at fang.block@dowjones.com