Home prices expected to stabilise this year

Mainland home prices eased last month as government measures bit and analysts predict the trend will continue due to increasing supply.

Year-on-year, prices rose 20.6 per cent in Beijing, 20.4 per cent in Guangzhou and 20.3 per cent in Shenzhen, down from November's 21.1 per cent, 20.9 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.

Prices rose 21.9 per cent in Shanghai last year, leading 70 major cities monitored by the National Bureau of Statistics.

"Home price rises further moderated in December, showing that market expectations are stabilising after a slew of measures taken recently by the first-tier and some second-tier cities to step up tightening efforts and increase the supply of affordable homes," said senior bureau statistician Liu Jianwei.

Yang Chenqing, an analyst with the private property consultancy CRIC, said the four first-tier cities and some second-tier cities stopped approving presales of expensive properties and suspended sale registrations of projects with fast-rising prices in December, artificially lowering average prices.

"So the December data are within expectations and they are a result of control measures," he said.