China's property sales to see narrower decline

BEIJING - China's property sales will continue their steady downward progress in 2015, rating agency Moody's said on Wednesday.

A Moody's research note said that the property sales will decline by between 0 percent and 5 percent in 2015, compared to a 7.8 percent decline in 2014.

Moody's attributed the slightly reduced decrease to policy changes including greater availability of mortgages and improved buyer sentiment. Property prices will remain under pressure as developers push price incentives to boost sales. New projects and weaker GDP growth will also suppress prices.

The number of cities registering more than a 5 percent year-on-year declines in home prices doubled to 23 in December from 11 in November, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Since last October, policies including fewer restrictions on home purchases, eased mortgage rules, and an interest rate cut in November, have been used to avoid a sharp slowdown in the sector out of fear of jeopardizing the broader economy.