(Yicai Global) April 15 -- The number of Chinese cities that had a slump in the price of residential properties in March decreased from the month before, indicating that selling prices are stabilizing, according to the latest figures.

Thirty-eight out of the 70 medium and large-sized cities surveyed experienced a month-on-month drop in the retail price of newly-built residential properties in March and 45 saw a decline in pre-owned home prices, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics today. This is compared to 40 cities that saw the price of new-builds tumble in February and 57 that experienced falls in the price of secondhand homes.

The price of new residences in the four first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou ticked up 0.3 percent in March, less than February’s 0.5 percent. And the price of pre-owned homes climbed 0.4 percent, a drop of 0.1 percentage point from the month before, the report said.

The main feature of the current realty market’s price index is the struggling month-on-month growth and the resistance to a rebound, said Yan Yuejin, research director of think tank E-House Real Estate Research Institute, adding that the risk of a prolonged slowdown needs to be prevented.

April will be a busy month for real estate regulation, as first-quarter data were not satisfactory, Yan said. New policies are likely to come fast and frequently.

The price of new-builds in second-tier cities stayed unchanged, while those of pre-owned properties slid by 0.1 percent, the NBS said. This was 0.2 percentage point less than February’s drop in prices.

Prices in third-tier municipalities declined by 0.2 percent for new properties and 0.3 percent for used ones, both narrowing by 0.1 percentage point from the month before.

Editor: Kim Taylor