Jan. home prices see first on-year rise in 11 months

Home prices in 70 major Chinese cites rose by an average of 0.63 percent in January, the first year-on-year increase over 11 months, according to calculations by Nomura Securities based on data released over the weekend by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Average home prices grew 0.54 percent on a month-on-month basis, accelerating at the fastest pace since January 2011.

Apparently in order to tame housing inflation fears, Liu Jianwei, a senior statistician at the bureau, said in a separate statement published Friday that the upward pressure on home prices felt since the fourth quarter of 2012 will diminish and there remains no basis for a sharp rise across the sector, with the recent government tightening policies being effectively carried out.

The State Council announced Wednesday five curbing measures, including an extension of the current pilot property tax program to include more cities, and pledged further tightening on the property market this year.

But the quickened housing inflation reading in January, which was made public shortly after the new policies, has market analysts warning that reining in the housing market may not be as easy as the government hopes.