It means that prices have now risen for eight months in a row although the figures indicate that the pace of price increases is slowing as it was 0.59% in March but there are still concerns about real estate inflation.
The index, which is compiled together with online real estate brokerage SouFun Holdings, is watched widely since China scrapped its national property price index in January.
China Real Estate Index System said property prices in 77 cities grew in April compared with the previous month, while 22 cities posted a decline in property prices over the same period. The remaining one city posted no change.
Average home prices in April rose to 8,773 yuan ($1,351) per square meter from 8,738 ($1,345) in March.
The National Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to issue April data for residential property prices in 70 major cities later this month and that is eagerly anticipated.
Two of China's top officials said separately in the last few days that the central government remains determined to bring down property prices. President Hu Jintao said China's construction of public housing remains an important task and the authorities will continue to increase financing for such projects and prioritize the allocation of land for such projects.
Meanwhile, Premier Wen Jiabao said that the central government wants property prices to stabilize and is also determined to return property prices in some cities to reasonable levels.
Even as it works to increase the supply of public housing, China is worried about a bubble in the private property market. Authorities have taken a series of steps to curb growth, from interest-rate increases to administrative measures such as limits on home purchases.
Some experts are predicting more measures to cool the property market. ‘We still expect more tightening measures,’ Credit Suisse analysts led by Jinsong Du said in a note.
‘The government’s policy is working but home prices nationwide are unlikely to fall this year. There is a bubble in China’s real estate market, because many people can’t afford homes here,’ said Larry Hu, director of Knight Frank LLP’s residential department in Shanghai.
About 40 cities said in March they will cap new home prices below annual economic and disposable per-capita income growth or keep them steady following the central government’s measures to rein in housing values.
