The year-on-year growth rate of China's home prices last month hit a two-year high, a senior official in the nation's top planning body has said.

The average home price in 70 major cities rose 10.5 percent last month compared with a year ago, and average new home prices grew 12.2 percent year-on-year, Cao Changqing, head of the pricing department at the National Development and Reform Commission, said yesterday in an online interview.

But Cao did not reveal last month's growth rate over October. The average housing price in these cities has increased six consecutive months, including November.

In the first 11 months of this year, home prices in 70 cities increased 7.3 percent from the previous year, while new residences jumped 7.9 percent.

Shenzhen and Guangzhou's home prices began to drop gradually after hiking in previous months, while home sales in popular areas such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou have decreased, Cao said.

Property policies will meet the demands of people and home prices will be kept stable in future, Cao added.

Prices of about one third of Shanghai's residential projects available for sale have risen more than 30 percent over the past 12 months, a survey released yesterday by a local industry researcher found.

(Shanghai Daily December 14, 2007)