China home sales slump drags on as deflation eats into incomes
The value of new-home sales from the 100 largest property companies slid 8.6 per cent from a year earlier in May. PHOTO: AFP
BEIJING - China's residential property sales continued to fall in May, signalling the real estate slump is still weighing on an economy that's under pressure from deflation and trade tensions.
The value of new-home sales from the 100 largest property companies slid 8.6 per cent from a year earlier to 294.6 billion yuan (S$52.8 billion), according to calculations based on preliminary data from China Real Estate Information Corp. That follows an 8.7 per cent decline in April.
A truce on US tariffs has done little for the world's second-largest economy as falling prices erode corporate profits and employee incomes. That has led to suppressed demand for housing purchases, just as the effects of a stimulus blitz last September start to wear off.
'China's real estate sector hasn't reached a bottom yet,' Wang Ying, a managing director at Fitch Ratings, said last week. 'The majority of residential inventory sits in smaller cities, meaning an inflection point of the sector would only come from a broad rise of income and wealth.'
The property market, accounting for roughly a quarter of economic activity at its peak, is where some 70 per cent of China's household wealth is invested.
China's top officials have said that a recovery in the property sector will help to shield the country from the US tariff hikes. Yet top authorities have taken a patient approach on real estate policies, seeking the right time to issue more support. In late May, officials reiterated existing programmes for the real estate sector, including urban renewal initiatives.
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
13 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Iran seeks to turn 'new page' in ties with Lebanon
Iran seeks to turn 'new page' in ties with Lebanon BEIRUT - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lebanese officials on Tuesday that Iran wanted to turn a "new page" in relations with Beirut, hinting at a shift in diplomatic ties that were long grounded in supporting Tehran-backed armed group Hezbollah. Hezbollah was once a powerful armed movement and political party with sway over Lebanon's state, but it was severely weakened by Israel's bombing campaign last year. Since then, Lebanon's U.S.-backed army commander was elected president and a new cabinet with curtailed influence for Hezbollah and its allies took power. Araqchi's one-day trip to Beirut on Tuesday was his first since February, when he attended the funeral of Hezbollah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, killed in Israeli air strikes in September. Araqchi told both Lebanon's prime minister Nawaf Salam and foreign minister Youssef Raggi that he wanted to "turn a new page" in Iran's ties with Lebanon, according to statements by Salam and Raggi's offices. "Araqchi affirmed his country's keenness to open a new page in bilateral relations with Lebanon, based on mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs," Salam's office said. Araqchi also extended a formal invitation for Salam to visit Iran. The statement from Raggi's office said the pair had a "frank and direct discussion," including on establishing the state's monopoly on the use of arms - an apparent reference to possible negotiations on the future of Hezbollah's arsenal. The top Iranian diplomat briefly addressed reporters on Tuesday after meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is a key Hezbollah ally. Unlike previous addresses by Iranian diplomats, his comments did not mention Hezbollah. The visit followed several turbulent episodes in ties between the two countries. Lebanon's foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to Beirut in April over comments alleging that plans to disarm Hezbollah were a "conspiracy". Last year, then-prime minister Najib Mikati also issued a rare rebuke of Iran for "interfering" in internal Lebanese affairs. In February, Iran blocked Lebanese planes from repatriating dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in Tehran after Lebanon said it would not allow Iranian aircraft to land in Beirut because of Israel's threats that it would bomb the planes. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
42 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Leverkusen sign Dutch goalkeeper Flekken from Brentford
Bayer Leverkusen have signed Dutch goalkeeper Mark Flekken from Premier League Brentford on a three-year contract, the Bundesliga club said on Tuesday. The 31-year-old will return to Germany after two seasons at Brentford, where he made 74 appearances in the Premier League. "Mark Flekken possesses a wide range of skills that a goalkeeper in modern top-flight football must possess," Leverkusen Sporting Director Simon Rolfes said. "Mark exudes an impressive physical presence; from a footballing perspective, he has certainly been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over the past two years." Flekken, who has played eight times for the Netherlands, has spent the majority of his career in Germany with clubs including Freiburg and Duisburg. Leverkusen appointed former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag as their head coach in May, replacing Xabi Alonso who left to join Real Madrid. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
UK trade minister to meet US counterpart to discuss implementing tariff deal
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds walks at Downing Street, on the day of a Cabinet meeting in London, Britain, January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo LONDON/PARIS - Britain's trade minister Jonathan Reynolds will meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Tuesday to discuss the implementation of a trade deal that has been complicated by the announcement of fresh U.S. tariffs on steel. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to reduce tariffs on British imports of cars and steel to the United States, but a delay in implementing the deal means tariffs may go up before they come down. Last week, Trump said that tariffs on imported steel would rise to 50% from 25% starting on Wednesday. Industry body UK Steel said it understood that British producers were likely to be affected, which would be a "body blow" to the sector. A British government spokesperson said the UK was engaging with the United States on the implications of the announcement, before Reynolds met Greer in Paris to discuss implementation timelines of the bilateral agreement. Starmer's spokesperson said that, once implemented, the deal with Washington would eliminate tariffs on the "majority of steel products" exported to the United States, regardless of the 50% tariff announced by Trump. "We'd continue to expect that to be the case," he said. He also said that industry minister Sarah Jones was meeting with representatives from the steel sector on Tuesday. Asked if the 50% tariffs would go ahead on Wednesday, Greer, speaking French with reporters in Paris, said: "We'll see." Ahead of his three-day trip to Paris and Brussels, Reynolds said that he recognised that Britain's relationship "with G7 allies and EU counterparts must continue to evolve and deliver a better trading environment for our businesses and exporters." After meetings with Group of Seven and OECD counterparts in Paris, Reynolds will hold talks with EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic. Britain struck deals with the U.S. and the European Union - its two biggest trading partners - last month, but both are political pacts rather than formal trade agreements, and the details of their implementation have not been set out. With the EU deal, plans to remove red tape on the food sector are yet to be finalised. In advance of that agreement coming into force, Britain on Monday said it would scrap border checks on fruit and vegetables imported from the EU that had been due to be effective beginning in July. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
