Housing Prices Challenge China's Reforms
Eight months after taking office, China's new government is still struggling to bring housing prices under control. Despite a series of measures since March, prices have kept up their relentless climb, frustrating first-time buyers and the government's urbanization drive. In October, 65 of 70 surveyed cities reported higher new home prices, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The increases in China's four largest cities were the biggest since January 2011, Bloomberg News said. Price hikes from a year earlier ranged from 16 to 21 percent in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, the NBS reported. In November, prices rose again in 69 out of 100 cities in a China Index Academy survey, Shanghai Daily said.
