[BEIJING] Property price growth in China was "stable while slightly lower" in January, the nation's statistics bureau said in a statement on Saturday, as data showed prices in eleven major cities fell year on year.

Last month, Beijing's new home prices rose 0.2 per cent month on month, while Shanghai and Guangzhou prices fell 0.4 per cent and the market in Shenzhen was unchanged, data showed.

China's housing market has boomed since late 2015, giving a major boost to the economy but stirring fears of a property bubble even as authorities are trying to contain risks from a rapid build-up in debt.

Home prices have slowly levelled out and even softened in the country's biggest cities under the weight of increasingly tough cooling measures, though some smaller cities are still seeing appreciable rises.

REUTERS