New data shows that China's real estate market is still shrinking, with new house prices for March registering month-on-month declines in most of the surveyed cities.
Figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that new house prices prices fell in 50 of 70 large and medium-sized cities. And prices in each of the 70 surveyed cities dropped compared to same time last year, with the sharpest decline registered at 11.2%. However, new house prices did stay the same in eight cities, including Shanghai and Haikou, while 12 cities -- including the capital Beijing -- actually saw an increase.
Meanwhile, for existing houses, 48 cities saw price declines, 12 cities posted gains, and 10 were unchanged. Existing house prices, in 69 of the 70 cities, dropped year-on-year, with the sharpest decline registered at 13.5%. The only increase was 0.4 percent.