Mainland home price rises accelerate
Home prices rose in most mainland cities last month, fuelling concerns that Beijing will impose more cooling measures
The rise in home prices in most mainland cities accelerated last month, fuelling concerns that Beijing will impose more cooling measures.
Prices of new homes rose in 53 of 70 cities surveyed, against gains in 54 cities in December, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Prices in seven cities remained flat, and those in 10 cities fell.
The highest price increase for new homes in any city was 2.2 per cent, higher than the 1.2 per cent seen in the previous month.
In the secondary market, the highest price increase was 1.7 per cent, compared with 1.2 per cent previously.
Alfred Lau, a property analyst at investment bank Bocom International, said: "It would not be surprising to see the government impose more curbs if prices grow rapidly in the short term."
Lau said the recent surge in home prices was mainly driven by solid demand, as investors had been eliminated from the market.
"We see prices are well supported by end users. Therefore, this time, the tightening will be different and target the overheating cities," he said.