BEIJING (Reuters – China’s home prices increased slightly in March, with weaker demand in smaller cities despite new policy easing measures and renewed COVID-19 flareups reducing buyers’ appetite.

The new prices of homes in 100 cities increased by 0.3% per month, matching that in February according to China Index Academy, one the nation’s most respected independent real-estate research organizations.

China’s property industry has been in turmoil since 2011, when authorities began to take policy measures to encourage buyers and relieve a liquidity crisis at large developers.

Premier Li Keqiang in March demanded city-specific measures for property to address homebuyers’ real demand. It also opened up the possibility for local authorities, who can relax curbs that are based solely on their specific city.

A total of 20 medium and small-sized cities announced in March marginal steps to spur demand.

Fuzhou, capital of Fujian’s southeastern Province, relaxed restrictions on home-buying in five districts this week and permitted some buyers to make smaller payments using housing provision funds.

According to China Index Academy, there is no overall increase in demand. 53 cities out of 100 surveyed reported a drop in home prices in March. 52 cities experienced a fall in February.

In small towns, the real estate market is still struggling. Price drops in tier-3 and tier-4 cities were 0.02%, slightly higher than the 0.1% decrease in February.

The 0.03% increase in new home prices in Tier-one cities, including Shanghai, has been slowing down from the 0.17% growth recorded in February.

According to China Index Academy, the COVID epidemics caused a slowdown in real estate recovery. Shanghai’s markets saw a spike in cases and made the market look “dim”.