(Yicai Global) Jan. 17 -- Beijing saw the biggest leap in pre-owned house prices in China last month from the month before, as the number of cities that logged an uptick in pricing increased despite a cooling real estate market, according to the latest data.

Beijing recorded a month-on-month gain of 0.8 percent, according to a recent survey by the National Bureau of Statistics. For the first time in four months, the country’s three other first-tier cities also registered price gains in the second-hand housing market. Prices in Shanghai and Shenzhen were up 0.4 percent, while those in Guangzhou advanced 0.3 percent.

Beijing’s pre-owned home sales have been on the rise since hitting an all-time low of less than 10,000 properties last October. Over 15,400 second-hand homes changed hands in December, a gain of 30 percent from November, according to real estate agency United Harvest. Yearly sales were the highest in five years.

The capital must pay close attention to this trend, otherwise if there is insufficient supply of new homes, they are likely to need to take measures to curb the pre-owned home market, said Yan Yuejin, head of research at think tank Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute.

Six municipalities saw a gain in pre-owned home prices last month from the month before, up from three in November, according to the survey, which canvassed 70 medium and large-sized cities. But prices were down in 90 percent of the cities polled.

The price of new homes in the first-tier cities, however, dropped collectively by 0.1 percent in December from the previous month. Prices were unchanged in Beijing, gained 0.4 percent in Shanghai but retreated 0.6 percent in Guangzhou and 0.1 percent in Shenzhen.

Hangzhou in the economic hub of the Yangtze River Delta region saw the biggest leap in the cost of new properties, climbing 0.5 percent from November, according to NBS figures.

Fifty out of the 70 cities, or 71 percent, saw new house prices fall in December from November, and this figure has stayed over 70 percent for three straight months. However, the number of cities that saw a rise in prices has risen to 15 from nine, indicating a reversal in the cooling housing market.

Editor: Kim Taylor