China39;s new home prices steady for first time in 18 months
Expectations improve, but home prices yet to hit bottom, analyst says
Property sector still faces challenges

BEIJING, Jan 17 Reuters China39;s new homes prices stopped falling in December for the first time in 18 months, official data showed on Friday, after the government rolled out multiple rounds of stimulus to lift the property sector from a prolonged slump.

That stood in contrast to a 0.1 decline monthonmonth in November, as calculated by Reuters based on data from China39;s National Bureau of Statistics NBS. On an annual basis, new home prices fell 5.3 following a 5.7 drop in the preceding month.

Home sales have slumped in China since the property market was hit by a crisis in 2021. Debtladen property developers have been struggling to repay their borrowings and deliver presold homes, dampening confidence in the sector.

Beijing rolled out a slew of measures in the second half of last year to support the real estate market, including cutting mortgage rates and allowing local governments to buy unsold housing units and idle land with special bond proceeds.

These policies have contributed to stabilising real estate expectations, with some cities, especially firsttier ones, showing signs of recovery, said Zhang Dawei, an analyst at property agency Centaline. However, he cautioned that the overall property market had not yet bottomed out.

Zhang expected more supportive policies to come in March,…