By Hu Yuanyuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-06-05 14:47

Property prices in China's 70 large and medium cities jumped by 6.4 percent year-on-year in May despite the government's measures to cool down the market, the National Development and Reform Commission said yesterday.

Experts, however, attributed last month's rise, which was 1 percent higher than that in April, to the "seasonal factor".

Five cities saw a double-digit growth in the prices of new houses, and Shenzhen lead the pack with a 12.3 percent hike. Beijing witnessed a 10.3 percent increase.

"The seasonal factor is one of the major causes for the jump in prices because May usually sees very brisk transactions in the property market," said Richard Wang, associate director of the consulting and research department of international property consultants Debenham Tie Leung.

The bullish stock market and people's wait-and-see attitude had slowed the growth of property prices in the first quarter, Wang said.

Besides, as the risks in stock trading became clearer with a couple of sharp drops in the Shanghai Composite Index, more capital has started flowing back into the property market.

Wang said that with the Olympic Games just over a year away, "Beijing's property price is very likely to continue growing in the coming months".

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