The value and volume of new home sales in China fell in 2014 from a year earlier. The value of new homes sold dropped 7.8% from 2013 to CNY6.24 trillion, while by volume, 1.05 billion square meters of new houses were sold last year, a year-on-year drop of 9.1%. According to a report by the National Statistics Bureau (NBS), house prices across the country declined by a slower pace in December amid improved sentiment among buyers. The four first-tier cities, in particular, posted an average price rebound from a month ago in both new and existing home markets. The buying of commodity properties, covering all types of real estate, totaled 1.2 billion square meters worth CNY7.6 trillion last year, down 7.6% and 6.3%, respectively, from 2013.