Real estate prices up 10.5% in December

Real estate prices in 70 major Chinese cities climbed 10.5% year-on-year on average in December, equalling a two year high, the China Securities Journal reported. According to figures from the National Development and Reform Commission, the average price of new homes rose 11.4% year-on-year in December, compared to 10.6% in November. Urumqi, capital of northwestern China’s Xinjiang province, topped the gainers with a 25.3% jump during the period in the price of newly built homes, followed by Beihai, in southern China’s Guangxi province, which saw a 19.3% increase. The growth rate was 9.3% for Shanghai. The average price of second-hand homes grew 11.4% year-on-year in the 70 cities last December. Urumqi once again emerged as the biggest gainer with a 24.2% rate, followed by 16.5% in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, and 15.2% in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. Resold homes gained 10.8% in Shanghai.