China up and down

Average residential property prices in 70 major Chinese cities fell 1.3 per cent year-on-year in March, according to the National Bureau of Statistics...

However, the month-on-month figure shows that average prices actually rose by 0.2 per cent last month.

Prices of new homes fell 1.9 per cent year-on-year last month but rose 0.1 per cent from February. Prices for second-hand homes rose 0.3 per cent month-on-month despite a 0.4 per cent annual decline.

Experts have warned that it is still too early to tell if the market had bottomed out, as sales were mainly driven by surging credit and by stimulus policies, such as tax cuts.

Other indicators, such as land purchases by developers, had shown no signs of recovery.

Source: www.homesoverseas.co.uk/news