MNI DATA IMPACT: China Apr Home Prices Continue Rising

     BEIJING (MNI) - Residential property prices in 70 large and medium sized

Chinese cities continued to rise in April, according to data released by China's

National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday.

     --The average price of new homes in 70 major cities, excluding subsidized

units, increased 11.4% y/y in April, faster than the 11.3% growth recorded in

March and marks the biggest gain in 24 months. On a m/m basis, the average price

was up 0.6% in April, the same as the increase reported in March.  

     --The number of cities reporting housing price rises in April is at a high

level on both a yearly and monthly basis. House prices gains were recorded in 67

out of 70 cities m/m (65 in Mar) and all 70 y/y (70 in Mar). 

     Table: China Residential Property Prices - No. of cities where prices are

rising/falling

No. Cities Rising/Falling                 Apr  Mar  Feb  Jan  Dec  Nov  Oct  Sep

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

70-Large and medium Cities M/M      Rise   67   65   57   58   59   63   65   64

                                    Fall    2    4    9    8    8    5    4    3

                                Net Rise   65   61   48   50   51   58   61   61

70-Large and medium Cities Y/Y      Rise   70   70   69   68   69   68   67   67

                                    Fall    0    0    0    2    1    2    3    2

                                Net Rise   70   70   69   66   68   66   64   65

     Source: MNI - MNI Calculation based on NBS data 

     --Prices of established homes, a better gauge of property market activity,

rose in three out of four tier-1 cities month-on-month, and in most tier-2 (28

out of 31)and tier-3 cities (28 out of 35).  

     --New home prices in Qinhuangdao, a coastal city in north China's Hebei

Province, registered the fastest monthly gain at 1.8%. On a y/y basis, Xi'an,

the capital of northwest Shaanxi province, recorded the highest gain for a fifth

month at 23.8%.

     --China's property market has "basically extended the stable (rising)

momentum" in response to the policies of local governments, the bureau said.

--MNI Beijing Bureau; tel: +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: flora.guo@marketnews.com

--MNI Sydney Bureau; +61 405322399; email: lachlan.colquhoun.ext@marketnews.com

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