Property investment and sales fall at slower pace
New construction starts, developers39; funds raised fell faster
Property needs time to bottom out, analysts say

BEIJING, March 18 Reuters China39;s fragile housing market opened this year with slower declines in property investment and sales, buoyed by government efforts to arrest a protracted downturn in the sector, however, analysts were wary of calling an end to the downturn just yet.

Property investment in China fell 9.0 yearonyear in the first two months of 2024, compared with a 24.0 fall in December 2023, National Bureau of Statistics NBS data showed.

Property sales by floor area logged a 20.5 slide in JanuaryFebruary from a year earlier, compared with a 23.0 fall in December last year.

Official property figures released last week showed the sector struggling to stabilise with home prices down 0.3 on a monthonmonth basis in February, in line with a drop in January.

Hwabao Trust economist Nie Wen said real estate remains in a downtrend and that a smaller slowdown in investment is unlikely to change that with developers still struggling for cash flow.

But the phase when property had the greatest negative impact on the economy should have passed, and it needs to be seen when the sector will bottom out, Nie said.

China has been ramping up measures to reinvigorate its fragile property sector after a regulatory crackdown on developer leverage led to a snowballing liquidity crisis.

Authorities launched a…