Rises in average prices of new homes in 70 Chinese cities showed signs of easing in the second half of October, according to the newly released housing index.

On a monthly basis, new home prices in first and second tier cities rose 0.5 and 1.3 percent respectively in October, slowing significantly from a 3.3 and 2.3 percent growth in the preceding month. New residential building prices in third-tier cities went up 0.9 percent month-on-month in October, dropping by 0.3 percent compared to September.

New home prices in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, which are among the 15 cities with the most popular housing markets in the country, increased in the first half of October but dropped in the second half, by between 0.1 and 0.4 percent.

This shows that property curbs have started to take effect. In early October, local governments in more than 20 cities rolled out a raft of cooling measures to tame fast-rising home prices.