Prices in tier-two cities, including some provincial capitals, rose 0.03% in December after declining 0.02% in November, according to data from China Index Academy on Saturday.

In tier-one cities such as Beijing, prices fell 0.07%, at a marginally slower pace than in November, when they eased 0.1%.

Buyer sentiment in the property market has been rocked by a liquidity crisis among developers since last year, which delayed project completions and even led to a number of bond defaults.

The government has called for a stable economy this year as the ruling Communist Party gathers for a once-in-five-years congress, raising expectations of supportive policies for non-speculative home buyers.

In recent months, the government has marginally eased property financing to prevent a hard landing for the sector, although it has not reversed its curbs designed to reduce leverage and discourage speculation.

At least 10 cities have also introduced measures to boost home purchases since November, including subsidies and deed tax reductions. Real estate firms have also offered discounts.

In the southern city of Shenzhen, some of the 290 units at a project by Logan Group were sold after the Hong Kong-listed firm offered an 8% discount on average on initial prices, a salesperson told Reuters.

New home prices in Shenzhen rose 0.05% month-on-month after a 0.15% drop in November, the China Index Academy data showed. In Beijing, they dipped 0.03% from a month earlier, barely changed from November.

A residential project in the capital city that went on sale in October in the eastern district of Tongzhou offered a 1% discount to buyers if they made down-payments within seven days to one month, a salesperson told Reuters.

The homes, selling for around 3 million to 8 million yuan ($1.26 million), are being built by indebted Yonggo Group, which jointly purchased the plot in Tongzhou in May with a state-owned developer, Beijing Urban Construction Group.

Half of all the units have been sold, the salesperson said.

Official price data for December is due on Jan. 15.

($1 = 6.3723 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)