China's home price decline continues to narrow in August

Residential housing prices in China's 70 large and medium-sized cities saw a narrowing of month-on-month declines in August, while prices also dropped on a yearly basis, according to official data released on Monday.

In the four first-tier cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, new home prices dropped 0.1 percent month on month, with the pace of decline narrowing by 0.1 percentage points from July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

Of these, prices in Shanghai rose 0.4 percent, while those in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen dropped 0.4 percent, 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, the NBS said.

Second-tier cities saw new home prices fall by 0.3 percent month on month, with the decline narrowing by 0.1 percentage points. Meanwhile, third-tier cities recorded a 0.4 percent month-on-month decline, with the drop widening by 0.1 percentage points.

In August, prices of second-hand homes in first-tier cities dropped by 1.0 percent month-on-month, the same as in July. Second-tier and third-tier cities saw their prices of second-hand homes decrease by 0.6 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, on a monthly basis, according to the data.

NBS data also showed that in August, new home prices in 70 major cities continued to fall on a yearly basis, but the pace of decline eased.

New home prices in first-tier cities dropped 0.9 percent in August, with the decline narrowing by 0.2 percentage points year on year compared with July.

Shanghai posted a 5.9 percent rise, while Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen fell by 3.5 percent, 4.3 percent, and 1.7 percent, respectively.

In second- and third-tier cities, prices fell by 2.4 percent and 3.7 percent year on year, with the declines narrowing by 0.4 and 0.5 percentage points, respectively.

Meanwhile, prices of second-hand homes in first-tier cities declined by 3.5 percent year on year in July, with the decline widening by 0.1 percentage points.

Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen experienced drops of 3.1 percent, 2.6 percent, 6.2 percent, and 1.9 percent, respectively.

In second- and third-tier cities, prices fell by 5.2 percent and 6.0 percent year on year, with the declines narrowing by 0.4 percentage points.

China's home price decline continues to narrow in August

A wildfire that engulfed part of a forest in Shantou City of south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday has been extinguished after 17 hours of concerted efforts by multiple departments including emergency response, firefighting and public security units.

Villagers living at the foot of Xianglu Mountain were the first to notice the fire erupting on its slopes.

"It looked far away and I thought it was just someone burning garbage," recalled one villager.

Upon discovering the fire, local authorities immediately organized personnel to combat the flames, with mobilization of over 200 rescuers from surrounding areas to assist in the firefighting efforts.

"We were divided into two to three groups, with one conducting regular firefighting and another using water pumps to extinguish the fire," said one rescuer.

Given the rapid spread of the fire, local officials also called in aerial support with helicopters to aid in extinguishing the blaze. Furthermore, many personnel organized by local grassroots departments were actively involved in the firefighting efforts.

By 06:00 on Monday, the wildfire was finally extinguished without causing any casualties. The dry climate in winter increases the risk of forest fire in the region. However, the cause of the forest fire is still under investigation.

Wildfire extinguished in south China's Guangdong after 17 hours of efforts