HOME prices in China rose for the ninth consecutive month in February, though at a slower pace, with nearly three quarters of the cities monitored seeing gains from January.

The average price of new residential properties across 100 major cities climbed 0.83 percent from a month earlier to 9,893 yuan (US$1,575) per square meter, decelerating from January's 1 percent increase, the China Index Academy said yesterday.

Forty-one of the 74 cities that posted gains saw an increase of more than 1 percent. In January, 64 cities recorded growth, with 38 seeing a rise of more than 1 percent.

Changshu in Jiangsu Province led February's gainers with a 4.05 percent rise.

Twenty-six cities reported price drops, with nine retreating by more than 1 percent.

"The central government's latest vows to maintain tightening measures, coupled with sluggish supply and sales during the traditional Spring Festival holiday period, damped price growth last month," the academy's report said. "Year on year, home prices climbed for the third straight month at a continuously faster pace."

In the country's 10 largest cities, the average price for a home rose 1.1 percent from January to 16,596 yuan per square meter, with Shenzhen and Guangzhou both seeing gains of more than 2 percent. It grew 1.33 percent in Shanghai and 0.86 percent in Beijing.

Curbing housing speculation while extending support for owner-occupier demand will continue to be a principal policy, the State Council said last week.

In Shanghai, data released by Shanghai Deovolente Realty Co yesterday showed the average cost of a new home rose to a record last month amid vibrant sales of mid to high-end projects despite a plunge in transaction volume.

New residential properties, excluding government-funded affordable housing, sold for an average 24,611 yuan per square meter, an increase of 6.7 percent from January.

"While monthly volume fell 46 percent to 548,000 square meters in February due to the impact of the Spring Festival holiday, nearly a fourth of the houses sold last month cost between 30,000 yuan and 50,000 yuan per square meter, which helped push up the average price notably," said Lu Qilin, a Deovolente researcher.

On the supply side, 209,000 square meters of new houses were released to the local market last month, 33 percent less than in January, Deovolente said.