China’s home prices pick up in October

BEIJING: China´s new home prices rose at a slightly faster pace in October after gains had held steady the previous month, as prices remained resilient in the face of falling sales and a tighter liquidity environment.
China´s housing market has seen a near two-year boom, giving the economy a major boost but stirring fears of a property bubble, with the government taking strong measures to curtail purchases.
Authorities have been particularly focused on curbing speculative lending in the housing market and have continued a broad effort to defuse financial risks from a rapid build-up in debt in the economy.
Average new home prices rose 0.3 percent month-on-month in October, compared with a 0.2 percent gain in September, according to Reuters calculations from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data out on Saturday.
The number of cities surveyed that recorded monthly increases in prices increased in October, indicating broadening strength in markets nationwide.