(Yicai Global) Feb. 23 -- China’s house prices rose at a moderately faster pace last month, with the country’s southeastern tech hub of Shenzhen the hottest market for resale homes. 

In four first-tier cities -- Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou -- the average cost of a pre-owned residential property climbed 1.3 percent in January, an increase of 0.7 percentage point from December, the National Bureau of Statistics said today. 

Shenzhen led the secondhand market with a 1.7 percent gain, followed by Guangzhou’s 1.4 percent, Shanghai’s 1.3 percent and Beijing’s 0.9 percent.

New home prices in the four cities rose 0.6 percent, compared with a 0.3 percent gain in December. Guangzhou was No. 1 with a 1 percent jump, followed by Shanghai at 0.6 percent, Beijing at 0.5 percent and Shenzhen at 0.3 percent. 

Hikes were recorded in smaller cities too. Among 31 second-tier cities, prices of new and resale homes rose 0.4 percent. The increase was 0.1 percent in December. 

In third-tier cities such as Yunnan province’s Dali and Anhui’s Bengbu, prices of new housing stock rose 0.2 percent, while pre-owned homes gained 0.3 percent. Both were 0.1 point higher from a month earlier.

Editor: Emmi Laine