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BEIJING, Jan. 16-- House prices in 70 major Chinese cities remained stable in December as regulators continued to limit speculation. On a monthly basis, new home prices in four first-tier cities -- Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou -- increased 0.2 percent in December, 0.4 percentage points lower than the previous month, while the prices of resold houses edged up 0.4 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in an online statement. The real estate market in smaller cities also showed signs of stabilizing as the 31 monitored second-tier cities and 35 monitored third-tier cities saw growth rates of 0.3 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. The prices of resold houses in second-tier cities saw a slight increase of 0.1 percent last month while those in third-tier cities registered a 0.2-percent growth. NBS chief statistician Kong Peng attributed the property market's stable development to the central government's continued efforts to stabilize land and home prices. The number of cities that saw declining housing prices in 2019 exceeded that in the same period of 2018, according to a report from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The Chinese government has upheld the principle of "housing is for living in, not speculation" over the years to ensure the healthy development of the property market. The year 2019 saw intensified regulatory efforts with local authorities introducing a new round of measures tailored to local conditions. | 
