Residential prices grow faster in August

Residential prices in all-tier Chinese cities rose moderately faster in August compared with a month ago, according to data by the National Bureau of Statistics.

In the four gateway cities, new home prices increased 0.6 percent, picking up from July's average gain of 0.5 percent. Guangzhou continued to stay at the top with a 0.9 percent rise, while Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen followed with month-over-month increases of 0.6 percent, 0.6 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, according to the bureau, which tracks prices in 70 major Chinese cities.

"Nationwide, nine cities recorded month-over-month declines in August, three more than July," said Lu Wenxi, senior researcher at Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Co. "Despite the increase, market sentiment in general remained stable with only a limited number of cities introducing tightening measures."

In the pre-occupied housing market, prices in the four top-tier cities jumped 1 percent on average, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous month. They jumped most in Guangzhou for another month, with growth of 1.7 percent, and climbed 1.1 percent, 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing, respectively.

In 31 second-tier and 35 third-tier cities, new home prices rose by an average of 0.6 percent and 1 percent, gaining 0.1 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points from July, respectively. Prices of existing homes in second and third-tier cities advanced 0.4 percent and 0.6 percent, easing and gaining 0.1 percentage points from a month earlier.

Nationwide, new home prices in Huizhou in Guangdong Province rose the fastest, up 1.9 percent from July, the bureau data showed.

On a year-over-year basis, prices of new and existing homes rose 3.9 percent and 6.9 percent in the four first-tier cities, both accelerating from July. New home prices gained 5 percent in second-tier cities and 4.5 percent in third-tier ones. Costs of pre-occupied homes added 2 percent in second-tier cities and rose 1.8 percent in third-tier ones.