Average new home prices in China's 70 major cities rose 3.6 percent in March from a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations based on official data published on Thursday, marking the third straight month of year-on-year increase. In month-on-month terms, prices rose 1.2 percent in March and have now risen for eight of the last nine months. Rising home prices have reignited concerns about property inflation and have forced the government to launch a fresh round of measures last month to try to cool them. The National Bureau of Statistics said new home prices in Beijing rose 8.6 percent in March from a year ... (full story)