Only two cities recorded monthly, annual gains in home prices
Property investment, sales fell in JanAug
Mortgage rate cuts are expected

BEIJING, Reuters China39;s new home prices fell at the fastest pace in more than nine years in August, official data showed on Saturday, as supportive measures failed to spur a meaningful recovery in the property sector.

New home prices were down 5.3 from a year earlier, the fastest pace since May 2015, compared with a 4.9 slide in July, according to Reuters calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics NBS data.

In monthly terms, new home prices fell for the fourteenth straight month, down 0.7, matching a dip in July.

The property market continues to grapple with deeply indebted developers, incomplete apartments, and declining buyer confidence, straining the financial system and endangering the 5 economic growth target for the year.

A Reuters poll predicted China39;s home prices will fall by 8.5 in 2024, and decline by 3.9 in 2025, as the sector struggles to stabilise.

China39;s property market is still in the process of gradually bottoming out as home buyers39; demand, income and confidence will take some time to recover, said Zhang Dawei, chief analyst at property agency Centaline.

The market is looking forward to a stronger policy.

Property investment fell 10.2 and home sales slumped 18.0 yearonyear in the first eight months, according to official data also released on Saturday.

Chinese policymakers have…