Home prices in top cities post double-digit growth

Average home prices in China's 100 cities have topped 12,000 yuan ($1,873.39) per square meter for nine consecutive months, a private survey showed.

Data from Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute showed average new home prices in China's 100 cities rose 11.3 percent in May from a year earlier and 0.7 percent month-on-month, to 12,514 yuan per square meter.

From 2010 to the first half of 2016, China's property market remained largely stable, said Yan Yuejin, senior researcher with E-house China R&D Institute. However, since the second half of 2016, home prices saw a rapid rise and this halted at the end of 2017 after more than 100 cities introduced their own property policy tightening measures.

Last month, average home prices per square meter stood at 41,659 yuan in first-tier cities, 13,197 yuan in second-tier cities, and 10,350 yuan in third- and fourth-tier cities.

Southwestern Shenzhen, Guangdong province, saw the highest home prices of 55,874 yuan per square meter, while Jingmen, Hubei province, had the lowest, 4,412 yuan.

A total of 11 cities -- including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Zhuhai -- saw their home prices top 20,000 yuan. Home prices in Yanjiao, which borders Beijing's Tongzhou district and is home to more than 200,000 people who work in the capital, were the highest among third- and fourth-tier cities, reaching 20,966 yuan per square meter.

Xianghe, Dachang, Yanjiao and Langfang, which all neighbor Beijing, the capital of China, reported big declines in home prices last month, falling 26 percent, 24 percent, 21 percent and 20 percent respectively.

The year-on-year growth in home prices continued narrowing last month, Yan said, adding that it fully embodied the policy effect that "houses are for living, not for speculation."

However, in some cities, the impetus for a potential rise remained strong, Yan said. Meanwhile, developers have obtained presale permits on some high-end property projects, which could drive home prices to rebound, Yan added.