China January new home prices rise in most cities (by Chris Oliver)
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- China's January new home prices rose in all but two of the nation's 70 major cities from a year earlier, according to reports Friday, which cited data released by the Statistics Bureau. Prices for new homes in Beijing were up 6.8% in January on year, while those in Shanghai rose 1.5%, the Statistics Bureau said. The January data is the first month in which the Statistics Bureau has released detailed city data incorporating local online property registries into its price indexes. On Wednesday the bureau announced it would scrap a monthly nationwide index of average prices for its 70 largest cities.