China home prices fall again in April

BEIJING - New home prices in nearly two-thirds of China's major cities fell again in April as the country continued its initiatives to regulate the real estate market, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.

In April, 43 out of the statistical pool of 70 major cities saw drops in new home prices from March, while new home prices in 24 cities remained at the same level, the NBS said.

Only three cities, down from eight in March, saw slight increases of less than 0.2 percent in new home prices last month, the NBS noted.

Compared with April 2011, the sale prices of newly constructed residential buildings declined in 46 cities out of 70, with one remaining unchanged. However, a total of 23 cities saw sale prices up by less than 1.7 percent from last year.

Prices of newly built homes in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou fell further on both monthly and yearly bases in April.

China started adopting measures to dampen property prices in 2010. Those measures have included tighter lending policies, higher down payments, a ban on third-home purchases, property tax trials and the construction of low-income housing.

The Chinese government has repeatedly stated that the country will maintain property regulation policies without wavering.