Further monetary easing is likely as the real estate sector deteriorates and deflation intensifies in China, especially at the wholesale level, economists said.

Average housing prices in the primary market in 70 major cities monitored by the National Bureau of Statistics fell 5 percent year-on-year last month, compared with the 4.3 percent drop in December.

The average new home price slid 0.4 percent month-on-month, the ninth consecutive month of declines, showing that the recent reduction in banks' reserve requirement ratio did not increase liquidity in the real estate market, according to experts.