China property market sees notable retreat in Oct

BEIJING - China's high-flying home prices in major cities have been "markedly contained" by authorities' property curb policies, an official survey showed on Friday, citing fresh data for the first half of October.

Compared with September, the month-on-month price index for new residential property have all retreated in major first- and second-tier cities, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The cooling came as dozens of Chinese cities announced property curb policies over the week-long National Day holiday, including purchase limit and tightening mortgage restrictions, due to fears of asset bubbles.