Home prices continued to rise in Feb

Property prices in China's major cities saw the ninth consecutive monthly increase in February, with more of them reporting a price hike, data from a real estate research institute showed on Friday.

According to the Beijing-based China Index Academy, the average price of new homes in 100 monitored cities was 9,893 yuan ($1,587) per square meter during the month, up 0.83 percent from January.

The month-on-month growth rate was down 0.17 percentage points compared with the previous month.

However, on an annual basis, the growth rate was 2.48 percent in February, compared with the 1.2 percent year-on-year increase recorded in January. It was the third time for the 100 cities to see a price increase on an annual basis, with the growth rate further accelerating.

Ten more cities reported a price hike in February than in the previous month.

The average home price in key cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, stood at 16,596 yuan per sq m, an increase of 1.09 percent month-on-month, and up 4.32 percent year-on-year.