BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The average housing price in China's 35 major cities rose 9.8 percent in the first quarter over the same period of last year, according to a report released by the State Development and Reform Commission and the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

    All the cities surveyed except Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, have reported hikes in residential housing prices. The increases in eight cities are higher than 10 percent. Shanghai ranks first with a year-on-year increase of 19.1 percent.

    The prices for economical residential houses, ordinary residential houses and luxury high-rises witnessed a year-on-year increase of 3.4 percent, 9.7 percent and 12.9 percent respectively.     

    The prices for second-hand residential houses grew up 10.6 percent year-on-year, while the prices of land and rents climbed 7.8 and 1.9 percent respectively.   Enditem