GROWTH in China’s new-home prices quickened in March, two private surveys showed Friday, evidence that housing prices are continuing to heat up even amid government cooling steps.

    Prices of new homes in 288 cities in March rose an average 5.6 percent from a year earlier, the eighth straight month of gains, a poll by property services firm Real Estate Information Corporation (CRIC) showed. The rise in March was faster than an increase of 4.3 percent in February.

    Against February, home prices in March were up 1.2 percent compared with a 0.9 percent gain in February, said the CRIC, owned by E-House China Holdings Ltd.

    A separate survey by China Real Estate Index System showed average prices in China’s 100 biggest cities rose 7.4 percent in March compared with year-earlier levels, the eighth year-on-year rise in a row.(SD-Agencies)