The continued decline in housing prices in China is increasing concern over an economic slowdown in what is expected to be the fastest growing market in the world, the Financial Times reports. 

According to the National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing, 45 of the 70 large and midsize cities monitored by the government saw a month-on-month drop in home prices in February, from 48 cities in the prior month. Only four cities posted price increases. On year-on-year terms, 27 cities saw home price drops in February, from 15 in January. 

In 2011, the Chinese economy posted a 9.2 per cent growth, but with current government measures to rein in inflation and temper real estate prices, industry observers predict that China will mellow this year, the news service said. 

Property prices went up after the 2008 global economic crisis as markets recovered, leading the government to initiate measures to prevent a bubble in 2011. These included setting a cap in the number of houses a person may own and limiting property taxes in certain cities.