Housing market shows signs of cooling after decade of growth

Higher mortgage rates, concern over impact of tax reduce volume of transactions as year gets underway

Experts say there are signs of cooling in the Chinese property market after a decade of growth, with the transaction volume starting to fall and mortgage rates rising nationwide.

Jia Kang, head of the Institute for Fiscal Science Research under the Ministry of Finance, said China's housing market also showed signs of a differentiation in prices in January, which may lead to a price slump in second- and third-tier cities, although prices in Beijing and Shanghai are likely to maintain their current level.