HONG KONG -- Turbulence on China's equity market is starting to rock the country's property market. Investors are quickly pulling their cash out of housing they purchased to cover losses incurred by stock investments. Some have begun offering discounts on property due to difficulties with finding buyers. Continued turmoil on the stock market looks as though it will have a heavy impact on the country's real estate market.
Until recently, the property market showed signs of picking up in major cities and some regions, thanks in part to lower interest rates, eased home purchase restrictions and other measures taken by authorities. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, prices for new houses, excluding those for low-income earners, in 70 major cities for May rose an average of 0.7% from the previous month. China Index Academy, a Chinese private think tank, said that house prices in 100 major cities rose for the second straight month in June on a month-on-month basis. In the first half of the year, China's home sales picked up 12.9% on the year, from the 5.1% increase for the five months through May.
