BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The property market remained largely stable across China in January, with home prices edging down slightly in major cities, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Saturday.

New residential housing prices in first-tier cities declined last month in comparison to December, and the growth of the second-hand home prices also went down 0.5 percentage point.

The property market in smaller cities is showing signs of slower growth, with the growth of new residential housing prices sliding 0.3 percentage point from a month earlier.

New residential home prices went down on a yearly basis in 11 of the 15 major cities considered the "hottest markets." On a month-on-month basis, new residential prices fell in 7 of the 15 cities, while Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Fuzhou saw prices flat with December.

NBS statistician Liu Jianwei said that prices were generally stable as market controls continued to take effect.

At the beginning of last year prices soared in some major cities, but governments measures ended the year on a more sober note. Beijing implemented over 30 cooling policies, according to Centaline Property.

Relatively tightened liquidity to contain leverage and financial risks also helped to rein in prices. Authorities have constantly reiterated that "houses are for living in, not speculation."

A statement released after the Central Economic Work Conference in December said that China will maintain policy continuity while adopting new policies in 2018.

Investment in real estate development grew 7 percent last year, 0.1 percentage point faster than a year earlier to reach nearly 11 trillion yuan (about 1.7 trillion U.S. dollars).