BEIJING, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's housing market showed signs of improvement in January as home price declines in 70 large and medium-sized cities generally narrowed from the previous month, official data showed on Friday.
In the four first-tier cities -- Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen -- prices of newly built homes edged down 0.3 percent month on month in January, while prices of second-hand homes slipped 0.5 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Meanwhile, across 31 second-tier cities, the average month-on-month price declines were 0.3 percent for new homes and 0.5 percent for resold homes, while prices in 35 third-tier cities fell 0.4 percent for new homes and 0.6 percent for resold homes.
On a year-on-year basis, however, the downward pressure persisted as price declines widened in all city tiers, the NBS data showed.
China has maintained policy support for the real estate sector and is seeking to build a new development model amid shifting supply-demand dynamics. Authorities have recently repeatedly stressed the need to promote higher-quality development in the property sector.
China will adhere to a city-specific, targeted policy approach, focusing on controlling new supply, reducing inventory, and improving housing quality, said Ni Hong, minister of housing and urban-rural development.
Efforts will also be made to support developers' reasonable financing needs and to better meet residents' essential housing needs and demand for better housing, he added. ■
