China new home prices end seven-month drop; more cities post gains -survey

BEIJING, March 1 (Reuters) - The prices of new homes in 100 Chinese cities held steady in February versus January having fallen for seven consecutive months, data showed on Wednesday, as a flurry of property market easing measures improved buyer confidence. The flat reading followed a 0.02% decline in January from December, showed data from the China Index Academy (CIA), one of the country's largest independent real estate researchers. The reading indicates improvement in a property sector dogged by massive debt problems at major developers, after authorities adopted a slew of supportive measures. In February, 26 cities reported price increases, versus 12 in January, CIA said. As many as 14 cities, including the eastern city of Nanjing and southern city of Sanya, reversed declines to post growth. In January, six cities swung from contraction to expansion. Market activity is improving in some typically high-demand cities, but the national property market still shows no obvious signs of rebounding from its current slump, CIA said. "The property policy environment is likely to remain accommodative, with increased policy support on both the supply and demand sides after the 'two sessions'," it said, referring to an upcoming annual parliamentary meeting, at which the government will set economic policies and targets for the year. (Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Christopher Cushing)