China's property market are returning on an even keel with data showing continued signs of recovery in the first two months of 2025, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.
At a press conference in Beijing briefing China's economic performance in the first two months this year, NBS spokesman Fu Linghui said there are some positive changes in the real east sector.
First, the property market witnessed stable transactions in this period, Fu said.
"From January to February, the year-on-year decline in the area and value of new commercial housing sales narrowed by 7.8 and 14.5 percentage points, respectively. In the 40 key cities we track, sales area and value of new commercial housing in the first two months increased by 1.3 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively, year over year," Fu said.
Second, housing prices continued to stabilize in February, with the prices of new residential properties in the four first-tier cities rising by 0.1 percent month on month, the same as the previous month.
Third, market expectations remain stable.
"In February, among some real estate development enterprises and intermediary services in 70 large and medium-sized cities, 71.8 percent of employee respondents expected the market of new commercial housing to remain stable or rise in the next six months, up 2.8 percentage points from the previous month, showing a stable market expectation by related institutions," he said.
Fourth, business of real estate development enterprises have improved, Fu said.
"In the first two months, the year-on-year decline in real estate development investment narrowed by 0.8 percentage points compared with that of the whole year of 2024, of which the decline in residential investment narrowed by 1.3 percentage points, and the decline in funds in place of real estate development enterprises narrowed by 13.4 percentage points compared with that of 2024," he said.
China's property market getting back on even keel: official
China has introduced a set of measures to enhance the implementation of its fair competition review regulations in an effort to ensure a level playing field for all market players and build a unified national market free from regional protectionist practices.
The 48-article measures, due to take effect on April 20, provide details on the overall review requirements, departmental responsibilities, review standards, mechanisms and procedures, as well as supervisory measures, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said on Tuesday.
Regulations on fair competition review were enacted last year to prevent authorities from rolling out measures that exclude or restrict market competition.
When formulating laws, rules and policies related to business activities, the authorities will be required to conduct such reviews over aspects including market entry or exit, the free flow of goods, and business operation costs and practices, according to the regulations.
The administration also announced plans on Tuesday to launch initiatives aimed at enhancing its fair competition review capabilities, seeking to eliminate practices that undermine a unified national market and fair competition.
"The implementation measures draw on practical experience, breaking down the regulation that prohibits restricting the operation, purchase, or use of goods or services from specific operators into five specific prohibited actions, including explicit or implicit limitations on transactions; restricting the ownership form, registration location, or setting other unreasonable conditions; establishing unreasonable project library or catalog lists; and limiting transactions through rewarding or punitive measures. These actions cover the main types of anti-competitive practices identified in current regulatory enforcement," said Zhou Zhigao, director of the Competition Coordination Department at SAMR, at a press conference in Beijing.
China unveils new measures to bolster fair market competition
