英语文摘:China's housing prices grow slower

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Housing prices in major Chinese cities rose 11.4 percent year on year in June, one percentage point lower than the increase in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.

This was the second consecutive month that China's property prices grew at a slower pace. Property prices in the 70 large and medium-sized cities grew 12.4 percent in May, 0.4 percentage points lower than that of April.

On a monthly basis, June property prices in these cities fell 0.1 percent compared to the month before, the NBS said.

New home prices rose 14.1 percent year on year in June, down one percentage point from May. Prices of second-hand homes gained 7.7 percent last month, compared with an increase of 9.2 percent in May.

The Chinese government started a campaign in April to rein in soaring house prices, including tightened scrutiny of developers' financing, limited loans for third-home purchases, and higher down-payment requirements for second-home purchases.