Home prices in 70 major Chinese cities largely remained stable in January, official data showed Friday.

The National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement that new house prices in four first-tier cities -- Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou -- edged up 0.4 percent month on month in January, retreating from the 1.3-percent increase in December.

New home prices climbed 0.7 percent in 31 second-tier cities, and rose 0.6 percent in 35 third-tier cities.