Prices of new homes in China's major cities fell again in April, extending a protracted real-estate slump that could prompt Beijing to take bolder steps to aid the sector.
Average new-home prices fell 0.58% in April from March, bigger than a 0.34% decline recorded the prior month, according to calculations done by The Wall Street Journal based on data released by the National Statistics Bureau on Friday.
The data showed that 64 cities reported home-price drops in April compared with the prior month, up from 57 in March.
Compared with a year earlier, average home prices fell 3.51% in April, also widening from the 2.65% drop in March. Of the 70 cities, 63 reported declines in home prices from a year earlier, higher than 58 in March.
Chinese authorities are expected to announce new efforts to reverse the property downturn on Friday. The nation's housing and financial regulators are set to hold a press conference in the afternoon to introduce policies to ensure deliveries of homes, according to a government notice.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
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