China new-home prices fall for third straight month

China’s property market remained under pressure in August, with new-home prices falling for a third consecutive month and secondhand prices declining even faster. New-home prices fell 0.1% month over month and 3% year over year, although the annual decline narrowed from 3.2% in July to the slowest pace this year. The broader data showed tentative stabilization in tier-one cities, where new-home prices rose slightly month over month, while year-over-year declines narrowed across city tiers. Shanghai was the only major tier-one city to record annual growth, while Guangzhou’s new-home prices fell 1.9% year over year, improving from a 2.2% decline in July. Persistent weakness in resale prices and cautious buyer sentiment underscore that China’s prolonged property downturn has yet to decisively reverse.