Housing transactions in June fell more than 10 percent from May, with housing sales in the greater Taipei area dropping the most, major real estate agents said Thursday. They said that the central bank's interest rate hikes in June and the selective credit tightening measures adopted in northern Taiwan discouraged people from buying houses last month. According to the Yung Ching Realty Group, its transactions for existing properties in Taipei City dropped 16.3 percent in June from May -- the first monthly decline in 17 months. And the average price of existing houses in Taipei City also fell about 10 percent to NT$442,000 (US$13,714) per ping, or NT$133,700 per square meter, Yung Ching Realty said. 'Buying in the housing markets warmed up a bit in early June, but froze after the central bank announced interest rate hikes on June 24 and other credit tightening moves were adopted,' said Hsu Chia- hsin, head of the research department at HB Housing. HB Housing's housing transactions in June shrank about 13 percent from May. Chinatrust Real Estate Co. also said that its housing transactions in June decreased by 13 percent from the previous month, with the biggest decline of 17.7 percent occurring in Taipei City. Housing sales in Taichung City also fell by 10 percent, while in Taipei County the decline was 9.3 percent, Chinatrust Real Estate said. Sinyi Realty said that expensive housing deals -- those valued at more than NT$30 million -- decreased in June by nearly 40 percent from May in Taipei City. Chinatrust Real Estate Vice President Richard Liu cited a recent survey that showed more people were having difficulty finding housing bargains. Only 39 percent of prospective buyers -- compared to 44 percent in the previous quarter -- thought that they had managed to close a deal with at least a 20 percent discount, Liu said. Meanwhile, experts said a study showed that housing prices in the first quarter approached a danger line that could trigger a housing bubble. They advised that people should be cautious about entering the housing market. 