Real estate price growth loses steam

Growth in home prices continued to slow in January, adding to signs of a cooling property sector, official data showed on Monday.

The trend emerged after local governments took measures to rein in escalating prices and banks tightened lending to property developers.

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Month-on-month average growth in new home prices fell to 0.49 percent in January from 0.51 percent in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Of the 70 cities tracked by the bureau, 62 saw home prices rise in January from December, compared with 65 cities in December.

Prices in six cities fell in January compared with the previous month, with prices in two cities remaining unchanged.

Growth in new property prices slowed in January in four major cities — Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen — the bureau said.

New home prices in Beijing rose by 18.8 percent compared with the same period last year, the slowest year-on-year growth since August.

In Shanghai, prices increased by 20.9 percent year-on-year, the slowest since September.

Property prices rose by 18.9 percent in Guangzhou and by 18.2 percent in Shenzhen from a year earlier, the slowest since July.

Liu Jianwei, a senior analyst at the bureau, said two factors contributed to the slowdown in price growth.

First, a slew of provincial capitals have tightened property policies and increased supplies of affordable housing since November, helping to stabilize market expectations.

Second, a tightened credit supply has reduced property turnover, denting prices.

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