New home prices in China grew at the slowest pace in 17 months during December 2019, as a result of wider curbs on the realty sector denting its contribution towards China’s already weakening economy. According to data released by the NBS, new home prices across 70 major cities in China increased by 6.6% on average.

The growth in new home prices has slowed down since the previous month when they had posted a 7.1% increase, but managed to continue growing for the 56th consecutive month. The real estate sector in China has seen some weakness after the government came down hard on property speculation since 2016 to stem the surge in home prices.

However, in the wake of trade tensions that have considerably slowed down economic growth in China, these curbs have made it more challenging for the property market to maintain its strength. On a monthly basis, home prices gained 0.3% in December from the previous month – the same pace of monthly gains seen in November.