Shanghai's?existing house index rose for the 13th consecutive month in April, but at a slower pace as the central government stepped in to curb speculation.

The index, which tracks price fluctuations of existing homes across the city, gained 0.69 percent monthly to 2,578. It rose 0.81 percent in March.

"The recent batch of policies introduced by the central government since mid April did help cool buyers' sentiment as the first half and second half of the month registered very different performances," said Tao Ting, an analyst with the index compiler, Shanghai Existing House Index Office. "Home owners in some areas finally started to cut their asking prices by about 3 to 5 percent."

The prices of existing homes in five downtown districts, however, climbed an average 0.97 percent last month, compared with 0.54 percent in March.

Across the city, 55 of the 68 areas monitored by the compiler saw price gains last month while 11 areas posted price falls and two were flat, the compiler said.

Posting the biggest monthly increase in prices in April were Sanlin with 3.35 percent and Shangnan Liuli with 2.5 percent, both in Pudong, as well as Dahua in Baoshan District with 2.32 percent.

Most of the price losses were seen in areas located beyond the city's Outer Ring Road, the compiler said.

Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Ltd, operator of the city's largest realtor chain, also confirmed yesterday that transaction volume at its 200 branches dropped notably in April amid a prevalent wait-and-see sentiment among buyers, particularly in outlying areas.

"It could fall by 30 to 40 percent from March as final figures haven't been worked out," said Ma Ji, a research manager at Centaline. "And it seemed that branches around the Outer Ring Road registered the biggest drop in volume."

China has unveiled several tightening steps since mid April to cool its overheated housing market. The moves, which include higher down-payments, have been viewed as the most iron-fisted ever launched by the central government.