国际英语新闻:China's home price growth moderates in June

BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- China's property sector continued to recover but at a slower pace in June, with fewer cities reporting month-on-month rises in new home prices, an official survey showed Monday.

Of 70 large and medium-sized cities surveyed in June, 55 saw new home prices climb month on month, down from 60 the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

Meanwhile, 10 cities reported month-on-month price declines, up from four in May, according to the NBS data.

On a yearly basis, 57 cities posted new-home price increases and 12 reported falls in June, compared with 50 and 18 in May.

New-home prices soared 47.4 percent year on year in the southern city of Shenzhen, the sharpest increase in June among all the major cities. But the growth was milder than the 54 percent jump registered in May.

Prices in the top-tier cities of Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou rose 33.7 percent, 22.3 percent, and 19.4 percent year on year, respectively.

The northeastern city of Jinzhou saw the steepest price decline of 3.5 percent over a year earlier.

For existing homes, 48 cities reported month-on-month price increases in June and 14 reported lower prices, compared with 49 and 13 in May.

The housing market started to recover in the second half of 2015 after cooling for more than a year, boosted by government support, which included interest rate cuts and lower deposit requirements.

The sector's recovery, however, has been uneven from city to city, with economically-strong areas reporting drastic price rises, and less developed areas still reporting huge inventories of unsold houses.

The contrasting picture has prompted local authorities to take different approaches: Shenzhen and Shanghai have tightened policies to curb speculative purchases and contain bubble risks, while third- and fourth-tier cities are exploring new ways to spur sales.