China’s home prices rise faster amid lending surge

Rising prices: A woman taking photographs as residential buildings stand in the background in Beijing. Price growth in China’s four top-tier cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou – rose 0.2% in March from a month earlier. – Bloomberg

BEIJING: New home prices in China grew slightly faster in March after growth slowed the previous month, putting a floor under the cooling market, as Beijing rolled out stimulus to boost the economy.

The sector’s solid growth could cushion the impact of a vigorous multi-year government crackdown on debt and escalating trade tensions with the United States, although some analysts say bubble risks are rising as prices continue to climb.