Chinese homebuyers look at models of residential apartment buildings during a real estate fair in Beijing. [Xinhua]

China's housing market has witnessed a significant decline in transactions during the weeklong National Day holiday as 20 cities rolled out a series of restrictive measures to rein in house price increases.

The measures announced by the cities, including Beijing, include higher mortgage down payments and greater home purchase restrictions.

As a result, the home prices in some cities dropped sharply in the past week.

The daily number of transactions in Beijing fell by more than two thirds from 1,066 in the six days (Sept. 25-30) before the holiday to 291 in the first six days (Oct.1-6) of the holiday.

Shenzhen, in southern China, which set the record for the country's rise in house prices, also saw a significant drop in transactions. On Oct. 1, 246 apartments were sold, but the number dropped overnight to 12 and fell further to eight on the third day.

Hangzhou, which hosted the G20 summit last month, also saw a 70 percent decline in transactions. In the six days preceding the holiday 1,374 apartments were sold, compared to only 494 in the first six days of the holiday.

Holidays are always the off season of the housing market, so we need a few more days to see the real effect of the restrictive measures, said Hu Jinghui, vice president of 5i5j Real Estate Group. However, the market has begun to cool off, he said.

Hu's view was echoed by Zhang Dawei, an analyst for Centaline Property. The measures have resulted in an overall decline in sales and will lead to price declines in the fourth quarter, he said.

According to China Index Academy, China's houseprices have kept rising for 17 consecutive months. The average price of new homes in 100 major cities reached 12,617 yuan (US$1,892) per square meter in September, up by 2.83 percent year on year.