(Yicai) March 7 -- New home searches in China rebounded last month from a month earlier, mainly thanks to the introduction of supporting policies, according to a recent industry report.

Searches for new homes climbed 17.9 percent in first-tier cities, 17.7 percent in second-tier cities, and 22.8 percent in third- and fourth-tier cities last month from the previous one, China News Service reported yesterday, citing a report published by 58.Com and its think tank 58 Anjuke Research Institute.

Home search data is one of the indicators used to measure the prosperity of the property market. They are calculated considering apartment viewing led by real estate agencies and home-buying inquiries to agents.

The highest increase was reported in Shenzhen, as new home searches in the southern first-tier city soared 32.4 percent in the period, the report showed. The growths for Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing were 16.4 percent, 14.3 percent, and 12.8 percent, respectively.

House searches in third- and fourth-tier cities climbed noticeably, with the growth rates in Chenzhou in Hunan province and Bengbu in Anhui province exceeding 40 percent, and those in well-known touristic cities of Sanya in Hainan province and Nanyang in Henan province surpassing 30 percent, according to the report.

The increase in home searches in third- and fourth-tier cities is partly related to the fact that many migrant workers unleashed housing purchase demand when returning home for the Chinese New Year holiday in February, said Zhang Bo, director of the 58 Anjuke Research Institute. Cities with substantial home search numbers are generally those with many residents returning from higher-tier cities to buy homes, Zhang noted.

The average online price of new homes in the 65 key cities under monitoring was CNY17,801 (USD2,473) per square meter last month, up 0.1 percent from a month earlier, with as many as 25 cities recording a month-on-month increase, the report showed.

The homebuyer confidence index also rallied last month, per the report. The index rose 4.3 percent in February from the previous month. Over 29 percent of homebuyers believed March would be a good time to purchase a house.

Nearly 40 percent of property agents believed that the demand for second-hand homes would also grow this month, the report showed.

Editor: Futura Costaglione