Guangzhou home sales up 25% in June

GUANGZHOU -- China's southern metropolis of Guangzhou saw a continued housing market rebound in June after the central bank cut interest rates to stimulate the economy.

Property developers sold 8,952 units of new homes in the provincial capital of Guangdong last month, up 25 percent from a year earlier, according to a statement on the website run by the city's land resources and housing management bureau.

Sales on June 28 and 29 marked this year's daily record of 553 units each day.

The sales boom pushed the prices of new homes up 10 percent year-on-year and 3.5 percent month-on-month, it added.

The housing market started to rebound early this year in major Chinese cities, as potential buyers snapped up bargains when the one-year government curbs, including purchase restrictions, higher lending rates and a ban on mortgage loans on third homes, drove down prices.

The interest rate cuts, the first in four years, sent many panicked buyers into the market after dashing their hopes that the housing market would see further correction.

A rebound has also been seen in Beijing, as sales of both new and existing homes in China's capital reached 25,602 units in June, 10.5 percent more than in May and 50.6 percent more than June 2011, official data showed.