(Bloomberg) -- China said its housing market is expected to improve after November housing data flashed multiple weak signals for the sector, which is weighing down the broader economy. 

The market will get better thanks to the government’s policies, the National Bureau of Statistics spokeswoman Liu Aihua said at a briefing in Beijing, without directly answering a question on whether investment in real estate will turn positive next year.

Her comments came after authorities eased purchasing rules in Beijing and Shanghai this week, reflecting similar steps in other cities, while adding a record net injection of funds to the market. 

Property investment fell 9.4% in the first 11 months of the year, after a 10% drop last year. While the decline in sales of 4.3% was better than the 28.3% fall last year, it was still worse than earlier this year, indicating the government’s efforts to help homebuyers and developers have so far fallen short.

Personal mortgage lending has been slowing this year, with one proxy for that down 6% from last year and less than half the level in 2022. That’s feeding through to the market, with the area of housing waiting to be sold up more than 20% so far this year, according to Friday’s data. 

New-home prices in 70 cities, excluding state-subsidized housing, dropped 0.37% from October, when they declined 0.38%, NBS figures showed Friday. The second-hand market worsened, with prices tumbling 0.79%, the most in nine years. 

China New Home Prices Fall at Slower Pace as Support Mounts

Officials in Beijing and Shanghai yesterday cut downpayment requirements for first- and second-home buyers, according to announcements Thursday. The cities changed the definition of so-called non-luxury homes, letting more qualify for lower mortgage thresholds. 

The People’s Bank of China today also injected the most cash via one-year policy loans on record, to support lending in the economy, which has been weighed down by the market’s slump. 

For more on China Key Data, Liquidity Operations, click here for our TOPLive blog.

--With assistance from Olivia Tam.

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