AUGUST new home prices rose at the slowest pace in five months nationwide as red-hot demand in China’s biggest cities cooled following a slew of restrictions to stabilize surging prices, a private sector survey showed yesterday.

New home prices in 100 cities climbed 0.2 percent in August from a month earlier, slowing from a 0.35 percent gain in July, according to data from China Index Academy, one of the country’s largest independent real estate research firms.

Authorities have stepped up efforts to rein in housing prices this year with measures such as restrictions on home purchases and higher mortgage rates.

Guangzhou on Tuesday introduced a pricing reference for resale homes to curb its red-hot market. Around 10 cities including Shanghai and Shenzhen have already implemented similar pricing systems.

“In the third and fourth quarter, property control measures will continue to be refined, and become more comprehensive and frequent, to plug any [policy] loopholes,” said Cao Jingjing, research director at China Index Academy.

Prices in the biggest tier-1 cities such as Shanghai and Beijing rose the slowest, compared with price growth in tier-2 cities and even smaller cities, up 0.11 percent versus July’s 0.54 percent growth.

The slowdown in tier-1 cities was mainly due to control policies in those markets and COVID-19 related measures in Shanghai due to a recent outbreak in the financial hub, said Cao.

On an annual basis, China’s new home prices grew 3.51 percent in August, slowing from July’s 3.81 percent increase, the slowest clip since December 2020.

Land sales to developers by floor space declined 32 percent in August from a month earlier, and fell 42 percent on an annual basis, according to separate data from the group.(SD-Agencies)