Chinese Home-Price Growth Continues to Decelerate in September

Home-price growth in China decelerated in September from a year earlier, deepening the gradual slowdown in the property market.

The average price of new homes in 70 cities rose 0.2% in September from August, excluding government-subsidized housing, according to calculations from The Wall Street Journal based on data released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics. That compared with a 0.2% on-month gain in August.

Compared with the same period a year earlier, average new home prices rose 6.5% in September after a 8.2% increase in August.

Tighter mortgage lending rules and home-buying controls in large- and mid-sized cities dampened home-price growth.

The month-over-month rise in prices continued to slow in second- and third-tier cities, according to a National Bureau of Statistics statement posted on the government website.

Home prices rose in smaller cities in September from the month before, with prices in Anqing up 0.9%, Changchun up 0.8%, and Harbin up 0.8%.

Growth continued to remain stagnant in China's biggest cities. Home prices were flat in Shenzhen when compared with August. They fell 0.1% in Shanghai, 0.2% in Beijing and 0.5% in Guangzhou over the same period.

New home prices rose in 44 of 70 cities in September from a month earlier, compared with 46 cities in August. Prices of new homes increased in 67 of 70 cities in September from a year earlier, compared with 68 in August.

-- Write to Dominique Fong at dominique.fong@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 22, 2017 22:18 ET (02:18 GMT)