BEIJING, July 15 (Reuters) – New home prices in China rose at a slower pace in June, data showed on Thursday, as government measures to cool the heated housing market further tapped the brakes on growth.<\/p>\n
Average new home prices in 70 major cities grew 0.5% in June from a month earlier, down from a 0.6% rise in May, according to Reuters calculations based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.<\/p>\n
Compared with a year earlier, new home prices rose 4.7%, slower than a 4.9% uptick in May.<\/p>\n
Chinese house prices have risen rapidly this year, prompting the government to take a raft of measures to rein in the market including curbing debt accumulation by developers, capping banks\u2019 lending to the sector and guiding banks to increase mortgage rates. But the moves are starting to drag on the property sector, a vital source of growth for the economy.<\/p>\n