THE average property price in 70 major Chinese mainland cities failed to post a month-on-month gain in June, the first time since China's top economic planner started to compile the index in July 2005.

The average home price remained unchanged last month as compared to May, although the price was 8.2 percent higher than a year earlier, the National Development and Reform Commission said on its Website yesterday.

Prices of new homes in major cities climbed an average 0.1 percent from a month earlier. They rose 9.2 percent from the same period last year.

For used apartments, the price dipped 0.2 percent in a month across the country though it increased 7.5 percent year on year.

In Shanghai, the average home price also remained the same as a month ago, though it advanced 8.7 percent from a year ago.

Nationwide, Urumqi, Haikou, Ningbo, Beijing and Hangzhou secured the biggest year-on-year increases in new home prices, which expanded 20.2 percent, 18.1 percent, 14.7 percent, 14.3 percent and 13.3 percent, respectively.

Lanzhou, Jining, Jinan, Wenzhou and Yueyang recorded the biggest monthly growth, up between 1.2 percent and 2.6 percent.

Across the nation, new home prices in 14 cities fell in June, with Nanchong, Nanchang, Chengdu and Wuxi leading the decline.

China's housing market has been suffering sharp falls in transaction volumes over the past few months after the central government introduced tightening measures to cool down the market.

In September 2007, down payments and interest rates were increased for people who hold more than one mortgage, coupled with raised interest rates and record high reserve requirement ratios for commercial banks.

Analysts said these measures have calmed the overheated property sector.