China March property prices up 11.7%

March residential and commercial property prices in 70 of China’s largest cities rose 11.7% from the previous year, the fastest pace in almost five years, the Wall Street Journal reported. March’s figure was the tenth consecutive month of year-on-year price increases. Despite efforts by the country’s biggest lenders to rein in real estate speculation, analysts said the measures have so far been insufficient as prices continue to rise in some cities. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the most noticeable increase in prices was in south China’s island province of Hainan, where prices in provincial capital Haikou rose 64.8% on average from the previous year.