Home prices growth at fastest pace in two years

Chinese house prices rose at the fastest pace for two years in April, despite accentuated oversupply after investment poured into the construction sector in the first quarter. The price of new residential buildings rose 6.2% in the year to April, the Financial Times reported. At the same time, investment in real estate construction in the first four months of this year rose 7.2% compared with the same period last year. In spite of vast inventories, house prices in China’s second and third-tier cities have started to close the gap with the country’s “first-tier” cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.