China's housing price surge 11.3% in Jan

The housing prices in major cities of China in January surged 11.3% over the corresponding period of last year, and the overall prices jumped 0.3% over the month earlier, according to China's economic planning body.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission, the housing price for the 70 large-and medium-sized cities averagely surged 0.8%, compared with December 2007. Meanwhile, prices for the newly-built apartments surged 12.2% from the previous year, and prices for used apartment jumped 11.9%.

The fastest growth is seen in the city of Urumqi, capital of the northeastern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, followed by Nanning, the capital of southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Housing prices in Urumqi surged 25%, and Nanning surged 20.3%. Beijing and Shanghai jumped 17.2% and 10.1% respectively.

Cities like Chongqing, the southwestern city, and Shenzhen witnessed the decline in housing prices, down 2.9% and 1.2% respectively.