New home prices in Guangzhou climbed 20% during 2013

BEIJING - The value of new homes sold in China in 2013 rose 27% from 2012 to RMB6.8 trillion, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. New-home prices in December climbed 20% in Guangzhou and Shenzhen from a year earlier, and by 18% in Shanghai and 16% in Beijing.

Premier Li Keqiang has not imposed additional nationwide measures to cool the market since his predecessor, Wen Jiabao, stepped up a three-year campaign in March last year, ordering higher down payments and interest rates for second-home loans in cities with excessive fast price gains. Instead, Li has left it up to individual cities to impose their own curbs, with at least 10, many of them provincial capitals, tightening local property policies since November.

The effect of those measures was limited last year because in first-tier cities demand still outpaced supply. First-tier cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, may impose further curbs if prices rise too fast. Home prices in China will increase about 5% this year from 2013, while home sales volume will jump about 10%, according to Standard & Poor’s.