BEIJING (REUTERS) - Average new home prices in China's 70 major cities rose 0.2 per cent in January from a month earlier, slowing a touch from December, as government curbs continued to take the heat off the market, an official survey showed on Wednesday (Feb 22).

New home price growth has been slowing for four consecutive months since September, with only a 0.3 per cent monthly increase in December.

Compared with a year ago, home prices still rose 12.2 per cent, just off December's 12.4 per cent gain, according to data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In China's biggest cities, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing prices rose 18.2 per cent, 23.8 per cent and 24.7 per cent, respectively, from a year earlier, but Shanghai and Shenzhen's monthly pace slowed as local governments' tightening measures knocked demand.