(Yicai Global) June 19 -- New-home price growth in Xi'an, the capital of China's northwestern Shaanxi province, has topped China's for the sixth month in a row.

This was according to data on home price changes in 70 large and medium cities for last month the country's National Bureau of Statistics released yesterday. 

Prices of new homes in first-, second- and third-tier cities jumped by 4.7 percent, 12.1 percent and 11.3 percent annually, while those of second-hand homes logged yearly rises of 0.3 percent, 8.1 percent and 8.2 percent.

New-home prices in Xi'an climbed by 24.4 percent per year as second-hand home prices also tallied an annual 12.1 percent gain.

The credit for these rises goes to the city's continued lowering of the household registration threshold to attract professionals, sector insiders said.

The city began to simplify its process for outsiders to apply for domicile and improve its service efficiency in March 2017. Over 1 million people had since completed household registration in the city as of December, data show.

Tighter  financial policy is likely to trigger a slight national home price  decline, however, the weekly International Finance News under People's  Daily newspaper reported, citing Yan Yue, research director of the think  tank at Shanghai Yiju Real Estate Research Institute.

Editor: Ben Armour