Chinese home prices decline further in December

Chinese home prices dropped 0.25% in December, the fourth consecutive monthly decrease, as Beijing reiterated plans to maintain tight restrictions on property purchases, Bloomberg reported, citing data from real estate website operator SouFun Holdings (SFUN.NYSE). Prices fell in 60 out of 100 cities tracked by SouFun, China’s largest property website portal, including in Shanghai and Beijing. Average national home prices rose 2.9% year-on-year to US$1,396 per square meter in December, the slowest annual growth since August, according to SouFun. Beijing has said that it will continue measures to limit asset bubbles in the property market, including limiting mortgages and purchases of second homes, while also increasing social housing supply. “Property is likely to be the last sector that the government will relax policies this year,” said Peter Bai Hongwei, a property analyst at China International Capital.