New home prices fall in annual and monthly terms
Propertyrelated figures such as sales and investment slump
More supportive polices are expected

BEIJING, Aug 15 Reuters China39;s new home prices fell at their fastest pace in nine years in July, as a slew of support policies failed to stabilise prices and restore confidence in the struggling property sector.

The prolonged housing market slump has weighed heavily on the world39;s secondlargest economy and its consumers, with analysts saying Beijing39;s 5 GDP target for 2024 may be too ambitious even as other economic gauges have steadied.

New home prices fell 4.9 from a year earlier the sharpest drop since June 2015 and deeper than a 4.5 slide in June, Reuters calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics NBS data showed. Earlier, Reuters also reported home prices fell 5.0 due to an automated rounding off of figures.

It is increasingly looking like the property market will continue to need more policy support to establish a bottom, analysts at ING said in a note.

Beijing has been intensifying efforts to support the sector, which at its peak accounted for a quarter of the economy, including reducing mortgage rates and lowering home buying costs.

Policies play a certain role in lifting the market, but the external downturn has limited the effects of these policies, said Song Hongwei, research director of Tongce Research Institute, a real estate research company.

In monthly terms, new home prices were down…