Tight credit for developers, buyers keeps lid on home prices

Property prices in 100 major cities are stabilizing, with month-on-month gains continuing to ease, the China Index Academy said on Tuesday.

The average price increased 0.38 percent to 11,002 yuan ($1,774) per square meter in March, the 22nd month in a row of gains. But the increase was 0.16 percentage point less than in February. Prices rose in 63 cities.

The gain was more than 1 percent in 12 cities, compared with 20 in February, the organization said. The academy is a research arm of SouFun Holdings Ltd, a real estate portal.