China Home Prices Fall Most Since 2015 as Downturn Persists

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Apartment buildings reach into the sky on Aug. 16 at the Legend of Sea residential development in Ningbo, East China’s Zhejiang province. Photo: Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — China home prices fell the most in almost nine years in December, underscoring why officials are extending support to the biggest cities to end the property crisis.

New home prices in 70 cities, excluding state-subsidized housing, dropped 0.45% last month from November, when they declined 0.37%, National Bureau of Statistics figures showed Wednesday. The decrease was the steepest since February 2015. The second-hand market didn’t fare any better, with prices sliding 0.79%, the same pace as the previous month.