China’s new home prices fall at slower pace

China's December new home prices declined at a slower pace compared with a month earlier, a private-sector survey showed on Saturday, offering a tentative sign of stabilising demand after authorities took steps to avert a hard landing for the market.

New home prices in 100 cities fell 0.02 per cent in December from a month earlier, narrowing from the 0.04 per cent drop in November, according to data from China Index Academy, one of the country's largest independent real estate research firms.

China's property sector was hammered in 2021 after Beijing stepped up its deleveraging campaign against highly indebted developers that worsened a liquidity crisis, delayed project completions and rocked buyer sentiment.

In recent months, the government has marginally eased property financing to prevent a hard landing for the sector, although it has not reversed its curbs designed to reduce leverage and discourage speculation. In December, several cities also implemented measures to boost home sales and mitigate local property distress.