China's home prices in 70 major cities rose in January after being subdued for months following favorable policies and growing optimism for the property market.

Official data showed that new home prices in China's four first-tier cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou – climbed 0.2 percent following a flat month in December. 

New home prices in smaller second-tier cities edged up 0.1 percent in January, after a 0.3 percent decline in December.

Out of 70 large and medium-sized cities, 36 of them saw month-on-month increases in new home prices for the month, which was 21 more than the number seen in December.

Last year, China introduced a host of new measures to shore up the property market, including facilitating equity financing for real estate firms and encouraging local governments to adopt city-specific policies.

These policies stretched into 2023 with 50 local governments issuing favorable policies to bolster housing demand including lowering down payments and cutting mortgage rates, Securities Times reported, citing data from think tank China Index Academy.

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