Sales of new residential properties, excluding government-funded affordable housing, dropped 9.1 percent from a year earlier to 1 trillion yuan (US$161.3 billion) across the country between January and March, the bureau said in a statement posted on its website. That compared to a 16.7-percent year-on-year decline registered in the first two months of this year.
By volume, new residential purchases during the three-month period withdrew 9.8 percent annually to 160.79 million square meters, according to the bureau's data. That compared to a 17.8-percent decrease recorded between January and February.
"Though the domestic property market continued its correction, we could see that the recent loosening policies by both central and some local governments are starting to take effect," said Sheng Laiyun, spokesman of the bureau. "A more stable and healthier property market should be expected with less administrative interference in the future as we would let the market to adjust for itself."
Since last year, some local governments around the country began to lift home purchase restrictions to fuel demand while the People's Bank of China also announced two interest rate cuts in three months' time, a move believed to be helpful to boost sentiment among both home buyers and real estate developers.
Late last month, the central bank, in conjunction with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the China Banking Regulatory Commission, also loosened mortgage policies for second-time buyers by cutting their minimum down payment ratio to 40 percent from the previous 60-70 percent.
