More Chinese cities saw new home prices rise in December 2019 compared to the previous month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. Analysts said the data showed stable growth and a strengthened property market.

A total of 50 out of 70 Chinese cities saw new home prices rise in December, compared with 44 in the previous month. Among the 70 cities, new home prices in the four first-tier cities rose 0.2 percent month-on-month, compared with a 0.6 percent increase in November.

Beijing's average new home price increased 0.4 percent and Shenzhen's was up 0.7 percent. Shanghai's price remained unchanged while prices in Guangzhou fell 0.3 percent.

China's new home prices rose at an average of 0.4 percent month-on-month, the pace unchanged from November, according to calculations from the Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute. Compared with the same period in 2018, the 70 cities, new home prices rose 6.8 percent on average, the slowest pace since July 2018.

The upward trend in new home prices in December shows a strengthened property market, said Yan Yuejin, research director at E-house China R&D Institute. He added that the market will be further stabilized as local governments release policies to contain property speculation, but that a sharp drop in prices is unlikely.

New home prices in Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, jumped the highest with a 1.3 percent increase.

Yan said the fast growth in Yangzhou may be due to relaxing policies and fast-developing city infrastructure.

In October 2019, Yangzhou increased the cap for households applying for the housing provident fund to 500,000 yuan ($72,605), up from 350,000 yuan. A new transportation system including a railway linking Lianyungang and Zhenjiang, two cities in East China's Jiangsu Province, is expected to open in August this year, which may have pushed up local home prices, Yan said.