GROWTH in China’s new home prices cooled in June as sales shrank for a second month, but building starts and investment quickened, providing a cushion for the slowing economy.

Average new home prices in China’s 70 major cities grew 0.6 percent in June from a month earlier, easing from a 0.7 percent gain in May, according to media calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data yesterday.

That marked the 50th straight month of price gains.

Most of the cities still reported higher prices. Sixty-three of the total 70 cities surveyed by the NBS reported higher prices in June, down from 67 cities in May.

On an annual basis, home prices increased 10.3 percent in June, easing from 10.7 percent in May.

The weakness mainly came from tier-1 cities. Prices in China’s four top-tier cities — Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen — rose an average of 0.2 percent from a month earlier, slowing from a 0.3 percent uptick in May.

For tier-2 cities, which include most of larger provincial capitals, home prices grew 0.8 percent in June, identical with the previous month’s advance.

Property sales by floor area, a leading indicator of demand, fell 2.2 percent in June year on year, media calculations showed although that was less than May’s 5.5 percent fall, the biggest decline since October 2017.

Despite cooling sales and prices, real estate investment, a major growth driver for the world’s second-largest economy, quickened in June. It rose 10.1 percent from a year earlier, accelerating from a 9.5 percent gain in May but still slower than in April.

New construction starts measured by floor area also rose 8.9 percent year on year in June, versus a 4 percent increase the previous month.(SD-Agencies)