(Yicai Global) Nov. 16 -- Nearly 83 percent of China’s major cities saw house prices drop last month, marking a 10-month high, despite a series of government policies rolled out this year to support the real estate market.

House prices fell in 58 of 70 major cities in October from the previous month, versus 54 in September, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics. Prices of second-hand homes declined in 62 of the cities, one more than in September.

The average price of a lived-in home fell 0.4 percent from the prior month, while that of new homes fell 0.5 percent. Both figures inched down nearly 0.1 percentage point on September.

“The number of cities which recorded lower house prices hit a 10-month high in October,” Yan Yuejin, research director of the think tank center of E-House China Research and Development Institute, told Yicai Global. “While prices in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Chengdu were relatively stable, other cities faced downward pressures.”

The average price has been falling for 14 consecutive months, with year-on-year declines for seven months, Yan said. The decline has lasted longer than the market cooling period in 2014, when prices dropped for 12 months in a row, with year-on-year declines for 15 months, he noted.

Based on experience, there is still time for home prices to recover, Yan pointed out, adding however that they are not likely to rebound in the short term.

New home prices in Harbin and Lanzhou, the capitals of Heilongjiang and Gansu provinces, have dropped for 15 straight months, according to NBS data. New-build prices in Harbin plunged 9.7 percent in October from a year ago, topping the list of China’s 31 second-tier cities.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione