China's housing prices suffer their steepest fall in nine years

China’s economy is set to grow by 5.2 percent in 2023, exceeding the official target, but the real estate sector has crossed another negative threshold. New home prices in 70 cities in China fell by 0.45 percent monthly in December, the sharpest decline in almost nine years. Second-hand home prices also fell by 0.79 percent monthly. China Index Holdings Research Director Chen Wenjing said that the stimulus measures boosted sales in Beijing and Shanghai, adding, “However, the overall picture is worse than expected. Demand remains weak. Weak household income confidence is keeping home buyers from taking on more debt.” The Bloomberg index, which tracks Chinese real estate companies, fell as low as 3.3 percent after the data, falling to its lowest level since March 2009. On the other hand, China’s fourth-quarter growth fell by 5.2 percent, below expectations of 5.3 percent. Retail sales in December came in at 7.4 percent, below expectations of 8 percent.