SHANGHAI saw new home prices in central and outlying areas rise by double digits last year while sales by floor area remained little changed amid the government’s tightening measures, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau said over the weekend.

The area of new homes sold in the city during the 12-month period edged up 0.5 percent from 2015 to 20.2 million square meters. These new homes were sold at an average 25,910 yuan (US$3,759) per square meter, according to the bureau. The price marked a year-on-year jump of 20.5 percent, which was slower than the 31 percent annual growth in 2015.

The average cost of a new home inside the Inner Ring Road rose 21 percent annually to 87,426 yuan per square meter, while it rose 13 percent to 18,127 yuan per square meter for a new home outside the Outer Ring Road. Prices of new homes between the two ring roads surged 34 percent to 44,984 yuan per square meter on average.

But if government-subsidized affordable housing was excluded, the average cost of a new home for ordinary buyers was even higher. They have to pay an average 87,547 yuan per square meter for homes in the Inner Ring Road and 26,778 yuan per square meter for those outside the Outer Ring Road, the bureau said.