SHANGHAI recorded China's biggest increase in home prices in March as top-tier cities led gainers for the second-straight month, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.

Excluding government-funded affordable housing, prices rose in 68 of the 70 cities tracked by the bureau, compared with 66 cities in February, as buyers wrapped up deals before a series of new property measures are implemented. Price was flat in Quanzhou, while Wenzhou was the only city that registered a monthly fall.

New home prices in Shanghai climbed 3.2 percent from the previous month, the fastest rise across the country. It was followed by Shenzhen, Beijing and Guangzhou, which advanced 2.8 percent, 2.7 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

In February, Beijing and Guangzhou recorded the biggest 3.1 percent growth, while in January Shenzhen led all cities with a 2.2 percent gain.

Year on year, new home prices rose in 67 of the 70 cities, with a maximum increase of 11.2 percent. That compared to 62 in February, when the largest rise was 8.2 percent.

"On one hand, March is traditionally the high season when buying sentiment picks up notably (after the Spring Festival holidays)," said Liu Jianwei, a senior statistician at the bureau. "On the other hand, as buyers across the country rushed to close deals before the government's tightening measures comes into effect, developers either canceled their discounts or simply raised their prices."

On March 1, China's Cabinet announced fresh new measures to curb property speculation.

Among them, the tough enforcement of a 20 percent capital gains tax has triggered panic among buyers.

But Liu expects prices to stabilize this month as local governments implement the new property regulation, including restrictions on home purchases and differentiated mortgage policies.

Data released earlier showed that new home purchases grew at a decelerated pace in the first quarter, indicating a retreat in sentiment.

In the existing home market, 66 cities registered month-on-month price increases in March, unchanged from February. The number of cities where prices gained from a year earlier rose from 49 in February to 59 last month, according to the bureau.