Home prices rise in major cities

Home prices in a majority of China's 100 major cities rose for the sixth consecutive month in November, statistics from the China Index Academy, one of the largest Chinese property research institutions, showed on Monday.

The average price of new homes in the 100 cities increased 0.26 percent month-on-month to 8,791 yuan ($1,395) per square meter, compared with 0.17 percent in October.

Of the 100 cities, 60 experienced price increases month-on-month, compared with 56 in October, while 38 cities saw prices fall, compared with 42 the previous month.

Average new-house prices in 10 key cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, rose for the first time on a yearly basis, after witnessing a drop for 11 consecutive months. Their month-on-month growth rate hit 0.39 percent in November, 0.13 percentage points higher than the national average. Pre-owned home prices in the urban areas of the 10 cities rose last month, the academy's statistics showed.