Property price growth rate dips in April

Property prices in China's major cities saw an 11th consecutive monthly increase in April, but the growth rate slowed as the government's latest tightening policies gradually kicked in.

China Index Academy, a Beijing-based real estate research institute, said on Monday that the average price of new homes in 100 monitored cities was 10,098 yuan ($1,602) per square meter during April, up 1 percent on the previous month.

The month-on-month growth rate, according to the academy's figure, is down 0.06 percentage points from March.

A total of 76 cities saw price increases on a monthly basis in April, compared with 84 in March. Meanwhile, the number of cities experiencing a price drop increased by 8 from the previous month.

On a yearly basis, the growth was 5.34 percent last month, compared with a 3.9 percent year-on-year rise in March. It was the fifth time that 100 cities saw a price hike on a year-on-year basis, with the growth rate further accelerating.

The average home price in key cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, stood at 17,023 yuan per sq m, an increase of 1.31 percent from the previous month and up 7.89 percent over the same period last year, indicating an accelerating price growth rate.