Property prices in 70 large mainland cities rose an average of 5.3 per cent year on year last month, 0.1 percentage points slower than in December.

National Development and Reform Commission figures released yesterday showed that new home prices across the country surged 6.1 per cent last month, down from 6.3 per cent in December, while prices of homes on the secondary market rose 5.3 per cent, 1.1 points higher than in the previous month.

Property prices in Shenzhen rose 10.2 per cent last month from a year earlier, the fastest of all large cities, and those in Guangzhou went up 8.9 per cent, the fourth fastest in the country. Prices in Beijing increased 9.9 per cent year on year last month.