BEIJING: China’s new home prices increased in December for the fifth straight month, a survey showed on Friday, following a series of stimulus measures aimed at boosting lending. The gains come as authorities have vowed to stabilise China’s property market — a key pillar of the world’s second-largest economy. The average price of a new home in China’s 100 major cities rose 0.74 per cent month-on-month in December to 10,980 yuan ($1,686) per square metre, the China Index Academy (CIA) said in a report, marking a pick-up from November’s 0.46 per cent rise. On a year-on-year basis, prices increased 4.15 per cent.