Home prices in major Chinese cities fall in Dec.

New home prices in major Chinese cities fell further in December as the fall extended to 60 cities compared with 57 in November, a report said Wednesday.

The China Index Academy, a Beijing-based company that tracks the country's property market, said in its report that housing prices in 100 cities fell by an average of 0.25 percent from November to 8,809 yuan (1,398.25 U.S. dollars) per square meter.

Average new home prices in 10 major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan, declined 0.48 percent from November to 15,588 yuan per square meter in December.

On an annual basis, home prices in the 100 cities rose 2.86 percent in December, decelerating from a 4.06-percent increase in November, the report said.

Average home prices in the 10 major cities tracked by the academy inched up 0.42 percent year-on-year in December, the lowest rate of increase seen this year.

China's central government has been making efforts since April 2010 to rein in soaring home prices and dampen speculation. A raft of measures have been implemented, including higher down payments, limits on the number of houses that people can own and the introduction of a property tax in some cities.

The government has also stepped up the construction of subsidized housing for low-income families.

Last month, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee announced that central authorities will maintain the current property market policies in 2012 until housing prices return to a reasonable level.