Home price growth slowed for the fourth consecutive month in January, after policymakers introduced city-specific measures to cool down overheated residential property markets nationwide, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.

Average new home prices in January grew 0.2 percent month-on-month, compared with December's 0.3 percent rise, according to NBS research, which monitors home prices in 70 major cities.

Since city-specific measures were launched in the fourth quarter of 2016, some 15 key cities including second-tier ones, have seen obvious changes in their residential property markets with home prices being stabilized, and some starting to drop, according to Liu Jianwei, a senior statistician with the NBS.