MNI Brief: Beijing's August Newly Built Sales Worsen
MNI (BEIJING) - Beijing house buyers bought 6.5 million square meters of newly built commercial housing between January and August, down 5.1% y/y, and declining further from the 4.1% drop seen during the first seven months of the year, data from the capital’s statistics department showed on Wednesday.
Developers completed 5.5 million square meters of housing in the city during the first eight months, a 22.7% y/y decrease, widening from the 15% decline seen from January to July, the statistics showed.
Local governments will struggle to implement China’s new growth-orientated urbanisation policy due to tight fiscal resources and a weak labour market, raising doubt over whether the plan will boost domestic demand as much as stated by policymakers, advisors told MNI. (See MNI: China’s Urbanisation Target Needs Broader Reforms)