In September this year, of 70 major Chinese cities surveyed, which included 15 first-tier and “hotspot” second-tier cities (i.e., second-tier cities where real estate investment is particularly strong) and 55 other cities, 14 first-tier and hot spot second-tier cities witnessed increases of more than two percent month on month in new house prices, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). As for the other 55 cities, 40 cities saw increases of less than two percent month on month, six cities saw month-on-month decreases in prices; prices remained stable in one city, while month-on-month increases of more than two percent were seen in eight cities.
On year-on-year basis, among the 15 first-tier and hotspot second-tier cities, 14 indicated increases of more than ten percent in new house prices. As for the other cities, 42 cities saw increases of less than ten percent in new house prices, new house prices increased by more than ten percent in seven cities, while prices decreased in six cities.
In addition, in the first half of October new house prices in China’s first-tier and hotspot second-tier cities mostly indicated decreases as compared to September due to domestic policies to curb property speculation. In particular, new house prices in Shenzhen and Chengtu decreased by 0.3 percent and 0.1 percent month on month. Meanwhile, the month-on-month growth rate of new house prices in other cities was mostly down by 1.0-3.8 percentage points compared to the month-on-month growth rate recorded in September.