CHINA: TURN IN PROPERTY

SIGNS OF CHINA'S ECONOMY TURNING IN JUNE HOME PRICES

Langi Chiang and Nick Edwards

Reuters, July 18, 2012

BEIJING (Reuters) - China home prices broke eight straight months of decline in June in a tentative sign that pro-growth policies are gaining traction in the world's second biggest economy, now in its longest sequential slowdown since the global financial crisis.

Real estate, which directly impacts around 40 other business sectors in China, was cited last week as a brake on economic activity when Q2 GDP data showed growth eased to 7.6 percent from a year ago - the slowest in more than three years.

The signs of a turn in property coincide with other June data published recently which show the sequential rate of decline in the economy slowing after nine months of policy fine-tuning by Beijing that has included two cuts to benchmark interest rates in June and early July.

"Upward movement is surely the direction of China's home prices after two rate cuts," said a salesman surnamed Shao who is marketing a housing development by Poly Real Estate (600048.SS: Quote, Profile, Research) in Beijing.

Prices were flat nationwide in June versus May, according to Reuters calculations of data from the National Bureau of Statistics that showed small increases of 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, for Beijing and Shanghai.

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