Mainland real estate market back on growth track

Prompted by the explosive bank lending in the first half, China's real estate market appeared to have quickly returned to its growing path.

The average price of new homes in 36 medium- and large-sized cities rose to 6,554 yuan per sq m in June, up 6.3 percent from a year earlier, the National Development and Reform Commission said on its website yesterday. The prices were 1.1 percent higher than that of May, the top economic planner said.

The increase in new bank loans to 7.37 trillion yuan in the first half helped spur demand for property and boosted prices, said Bohai Securities Co analyst Zhou Hu. Housing prices in 70 major Chinese cities rose 0.2 percent year-on-year in June, the first time in seven months, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.