House prices up 7.8% in 70 major cities

As of the end of 2009, house prices in 70 major cities on the Chinese mainland had gone up close to 8 percent from a year before.

That's up 1.5 percent from the average price in November. The National Bureau of Statistics says average prices for new residential properties have shot up 9 percent in just one year, with second-hand units going up 6.8 percent.

Luxury homes are now costing more than 7 percent from a year ago. In contrast, the price increase for low cost housing stands below 1 percent. The cost of pre-owned units shot up the most in Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Xiamen.