Has China successfully brought an end to its multi-year property slump? Home sales surge in key Chinese cities in December. 

China's property market managed to extend a recovery that began in October to the end of 2024, according to a new raft of data from the China Index Academy. 

In December, 30 key Chinese cities saw new home sales floor space rise by around 20% in both on-month and on-year terms. 

20 key Chinese cities saw pre-owned home transaction volumes rise around 20% in on-month terms, and nearly 70% compared to the same period last year. 

Academy director Cao Jingjing (曹晶晶) said to Securities Daily the data is a sign that China's property rescue policies in 2024 have finally managed to arrest a multi-year decline in the housing market. 

"With the continual impact of forceful policies, ever since the fourth quarter of 2024 both new home and pre-owned home transactions levels have remained high, and the market has seen gradual stabilisation," Cao said. 

China has been in the throes of a property slump since 2021, bringing about the collapse of leading developers that had become highly leveraged on the back of offshore debt issues. 

Domestic economists blame the property slump for ailing levels of consumption and demand in the wake of the Covid pandemic. 

Chinese policymakers stepped up measures to provide relief to the property market last year - chief amongst the an unprecedented loosening of credit conditions for real estate loans by the central bank in May. 

Beijing enacted follow-up measures in September, as part of a preliminary raft of fiscal and monetary loosening. 

In November, China's Ministry of Finance also issued the "Announcement on Tax Policies to Expedite the Healthy and Stable Development of the Property Market" (关于促进房地产市场平稳健康发展有关税收政策的公告). 

Starting from 1 December, the Announcement expanded discounts on deed duties for residential property transactions and land VAT. 

Source: "楼市利好政策效果持续 市场预期逐渐修复" Securities Daily. 

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