Pre-owned home index rises moderately

SHANGHAI'S pre-owned housing index continued to climb moderately in January, as buying momentum was boosted for an eighth straight month amid unabated demand from end-users.

The index, which monitors price variations of pre-owned homes in the city, gained 7 points, or 0.27 percent, from December to 2,607 last month, the Shanghai Existing House Index Office said yesterday.

The index rose 0.19 percent in December and gained 0.15 percent in November.

"Buying momentum in the city's existing home market strengthened for another month as hopes for a price decrease continued to wane," said Chen Zhen, an analyst at the office. "More individual home owners have recently raised their asking prices or simply held back from putting homes on the market."

Prices rose in 82 of the 130 tracked areas in the city by an average 0.63 percent in January from December. Prices fell in 25 areas by an average 0.64 percent, the office said.

We recommend:
Wind power now No.3 energy resource	Blackberry maker changes name, unveils new phones	China caps first 3G nuclear plant
New Zealand moves to restore trust	Lenovo ready to challenge mobile industry leaders	Airbus has big hopes for big plane