Home prices in top China cities stabilising in January

Hong Kong

AVERAGE new home prices in China's major cities fell for the ninth straight month in January but showed some signs of stabilising in the top cities in a small sign that the worst may be over for the ailing property sector.

Still, market watchers said that a nationwide rebound is unlikely in the near term due to a massive overhang of unsold homes - especially in the so-called "lower-tier" cities, where falls in new home prices accelerated last month.

The property industry accounts for some 15 per cent of China's gross domestic product (GDP), so signs of a bottoming out in the sector would be good news for the government and central bank after economic gr…