Costs increase for 10th month in a row, but govt curbs expected to rein in rises

Residential buildings in Shanghai's Pudong New Area. House prices in major cities across the country continued to rise in March after the central government announced new tightening policies and measures. [Jing Wei/China Daily]

Property prices in China's major cities saw a 10th consecutive monthly increase in March, but new government policies aimed at cracking down on speculation are expected to rein in the price increases.

China Index Academy, a Beijing-based real estate research institute, said on Monday the average price of new homes in 100 monitored cities was 9,998 yuan ($1,600) per square meter during March, up 1.06 percent on the previous month.

The month-on-month growth rate, according to the academy's figure, is up 0.83 percentage points from the previous month.

A total of 84 cities saw price increases on a monthly basis, with 10 more reporting a price hike in March than the previous month, while the number of cities experiencing a price drop fell by 10 from February.

On a yearly basis, the growth was 3.9 percent last month, compared with a 2.48 percent year-on-year rise in February. It was the fourth time that 100 cities saw a price hike on a year-on-year basis, with the growth rate further accelerating.

The average house price in key cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, stood at 16,803 yuan per sq m, an increase of 1.25 percent from the previous month and up 6.05 percent over the same period last year, indicating an accelerating price growth rate.

However local governments' detailed regulations following the introduction of the State Council's measures to cool the sizzling real estate market are expected to stabilize property prices across the country, industry analysts said.

Over the weekend, a number of major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, announced how they would be putting the central government's measures into practice.