House prices rise in December

First year-on-year increase in nine months 'indicates market rebound'

China's home prices recorded their first year-on-year increase in nine months in December, a survey showed on Friday.

Figures from the China Index Academy, a Beijing-based real estate research institute, reported that the average price of new homes in 100 monitored cities was 9,712 yuan ($1,558) per square meter during the month, up 0.03 percent from December 2011.

Prices rose 0.23 percent from November, the seventh consecutive monthly rise, it said in a statement. An increase of 0.26 percent was recorded in November from October.

Fifty-seven of the 100 cities saw a rise in property prices, down from 60 in November, and 43 cities experienced a fall, up from November's 38.

The average price in 10 key cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, stood at 16,157 yuan per square meter, up 0.45 percent on the previous month and an increase of 1.06 percent on the same period the previous year, according to the academy.

"The price of both new homes and pre-owned homes in the 10 key cities increased at a quicker pace than the national average, indicating the market rebound was mainly recorded in major cities," said Huang Yu, the academy's vice-president.

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