August sees home prices rising in 63 cities

HOME prices in China rose for the third straight month in August with more than 60 percent of the cities recording a price hike.

The average price climbed 0.24 percent from July to 8,738 yuan (US$1,378) per square meter in 100 major cities across the country, according to China Index Academy's report today. That compared with an increase of 0.33 percent in July and a gain of 0.05 percent in June, which was the first month-on-month growth since September 2011.

Nationwide, prices advanced in 63 cities, compared with 70 in July, with 10 seeing a rise of more than 1 percent. Yangzhou in eastern Jiangsu Province led the gain with a 2.03 percent rise.
Thirty-seven cities reported price drops, with five registering a fall of more than 1 percent.
Year on year, home prices in the 100 cities fell 1.6 percent on average, declining for five months in a row.

"Property transaction around the country remained stable last month and repeated government vows to maintain housing curbs and prevent a price rebound seemed effective to slow the growth," the academy said.

The average home price in the 10 largest cities including Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou rose 0.45 percent from July to 15,539 yuan per square meter, with Wuhan recording the biggest increase of 1.64 percent. Shanghai registered a monthly price rise of 0.19 percent, according to the academy.

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