Home price rise slows in January

The rise in China's new home prices slowed in January, as sales faltered on reduced housing supplies before the Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb 8.

The average price of a new home in China's 100 major cities rose 0.42 percent month-on-month in January to 11,026 yuan ($1,675) per square meter, private researcher China Index Academy said in a report. It was the ninth straight month of growth, but slower than December's 0.74 percent rise and November's 0.46 percent advance.

New homes in the 10 biggest cities posted 0.54 percent month-on-month growth, but that was 0.6 percentage points lower than in December.