China's home prices stable on tight curbs

BEIJING - Home prices in major Chinese cities remained stable in September as local governments continued with tight property curbs, data showed Saturday.

On a month-on-month basis, four first-tier cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou - saw declines in prices for both new and existing homes, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Prices of new commercial housing sales in first-tier cities edged down 0.1 percent in September, compared with a 0.3 percent increase in August. Prices of existing home sales were also down 0.1 percent last month but stayed flat in August.

New and existing home prices in second-tier and third-tier cities increased at a slower pace from a month earlier, the data showed.

The total price increases in the first three quarters of this year were slower than the same period last year in all three tiers of cities, said NBS statistician Liu Jianwei.

New home prices declined year-on-year in two of the 15 "hotspot" cities, where speculative home purchases are particularly monitored, while one city saw prices unchanged from a year ago and 12 posted growth, Liu said.

To curb speculation, local governments have rolled out a spate of measures, including restrictions on purchases and increasing minimum down payments for mortgages.

The central authority vowed to regulate the property market order and "firmly curb the rises in housing prices" at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee in July.