Growth in home prices cooling in major cities

Results show measures to curb speculation are having an effect

The growth of home prices in 15 key cities, including first-tier cities and provincial capitals, cooled in August as city-specific measures curbing speculation continue to have an effect, National Bureau of Statistics officials said on Monday.

Liu Jianwei, a senior statistician at the bureau, said the growth in new home prices in August was the lowest in seven months on a year-on-year basis. On a month-on-month basis, prices fell or leveled off in even more cities.