China's national real estate market experienced strong growth in August with property prices in 70 large and medium-sized cities rising 8.2 percent over August 2006, according to a report released by China's National Bureau of Statistics and National Development and Reform Commission. The year-on-year price jump was 0.7 percentage points higher than July and is the fastest increase recorded this year.

The report also noted that Yunnan province is home to two of the fastest growing new residential property markets in the country - Dali and Kunming - in terms of month-to-month price increases. The cities of Hangzhou and Urumqi recorded the fastest growth in new residential prices at 4.7 and 4.0 percent respectively, with the scenic town of Dali coming in third at 2.8 percent. Kunming came in fifth at 1.7 percent, just ahead of Shanghai's 1.6 percent growth.

There are several new residential developments recently completed or currently underway in Dali, especially to the west and north of the old town and at the southern end of Erhai Lake. New residential properties in Kunming are concentrated in the city's north and also in the south, as the city builds two new urban districts south of the Xishan and Guandu districts and prepares to absorb several million more residents in the next few years.