Property prices in China’s major cities saw their fourth straight monthly increase in December, official data released on Monday showed.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, property prices in 70 major cities rose 0.3 percent in December from November and up 6.4 percent from a year ago.
The month-on-month increase in November was recorded at 0.3 percent, while year-on-year increase peaked in April 2010, when property prices climbed 12.8 percent. However, the pace of growth has slowed in the eight months since April.
Nevertheless, property prices in the country remained high despite a wide range of property measures, including the 30 percent increase in down payment for property purchases, in a move to avert a damaging price bubble.
Meanwhile, sales in terms of floor space surged 10.1 percent to 11.23 billion sq ft (1.04 billion sq m) in 2010, according to data, without indicating the monthly figure for December 2010.
However, the statistics bureau said that full-year increase stood at 0.3 percentage points higher than the growth for the first 11 months, indicating that some buyers are purchasing homes before property taxes take effect.