China's new housing market recovered amid improving confidence among home seekers, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed yesterday.
More than 2.07 trillion yuan (US$333 billion) worth of new homes, excluding government-funded affordable housing, were sold nationwide during the first five months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 5.1 percent, the bureau said in a statement on its website. That compared with a fall of 2.2 percent in the first four months and a 9.1 percent drop in the first quarter.
By area, 319.35 million square meters of new houses were sold nationwide between January and May, almost flat from same period a year ago. That compared with a 5 percent drop seen in the first four months and a 9.8 percent decrease in the January-March period, according to the data.
"A series of easing policies introduced by the government have effectively turned around market expectations and restored home buyers' confidence over the past few months, particularly in large key cities," said Wang Baobin, a senior statistician at the bureau.
"Secondly, many real estate developers have launched marketing and pricing strategies to reduce their inventories and lastly, comparatively stable home prices also helped boost market demand."
