BEIJING - Beijing has seen a 6.6-percent decrease in the price of new apartments over the past eight months, according to statistics released by the Beijing Real Estate Association on Friday.

From January to August, the average price of a residential apartment in Beijing was 13,874 yuan ($2,172) per square meter, which is a 6.6-percent decrease compared to the average price of 14,847 yuan in 2010, the statistics show.

The trend of declining housing prices in Beijing is being attributed to the government's strengthened purchase-control limitations that are intended to serve as a disincentive for those who purchase homes for investment purposes only, said Chen Zhi, deputy secretary-general of Beijing Real Estate Association.

In August, first-time apartment purchasers made up 90 percent of all buyers. Moreover, housing prices of over 97 percent of apartments for sale are no higher than the figure in July.

Last year, prices of homes sold in Beijing increased by 11.5 percent year-on-year, according to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics.

But in an attempt to cool the overheated property market, the city mapped out an ambitious price control target in March.

If Beijing maintains its control on real estate market, it's expected to successfully cool home prices, Chen said.