Revamped data show property prices still rising slowly

Much of the initial reaction to China’s new property price statistics has focused on the fact that property prices are “still rising”. But the median increase in new residential prices among the surveyed cities over the past 12 months was 6.1%, well below the rate at which household incomes have been rising. In only 10 cities has the price of newly-constructed mass market housing risen by more than 10% over the last year. This implies that, apart from in a few hotspots, affordability is improving.