THE country’s property prices in October rose 9.5 percent over the same month last year, the fastest monthly gain since the government increased the size of the monthly survey of real estate prices in July 2005, data from the country’s economic planning agency showed yesterday.

The rapid rise in property prices, a pickup from an 8.9 percent increase in September, follow data posted last month that showed credit and money-supply growth were still rapid. Taken together, the figures suggest the risks of an asset bubble forming in the country are rising as a vast trade surplus adds liquidity to the financial system.

The rise in housing prices came despite the Central Government’s move in late September to raise the down payment required for mortgages on second residential properties to at least 40 percent.

The latest data from a survey of 70 of China’s large and medium-sized cities were posted on the National Development and Reform Commission’s Web site. The 70-city survey started in July 2005, replacing an earlier 35-city survey.

Property prices in Shenzhen, rose 19.5 percent in October, those in Beijing rose 15.1 percent, and those in Ningbo in eastern China rose 14.9 percent.

The prices of new residential property rose 10.6 percent in October, up 0.6 percentage points from September, while those in the secondary market rose 8.7 percent, up 1.1 percentage points.(SZ-Agencies)