BEIJING (REUTERS) - China's home prices in China's 70 major cities gained for the sixth consecutive month in March from a year earlier, up 4.9 per cent, an official survey showed on Monday (April 18).

The growth picked up from a rise of 3.6 per cent in February. Compared to February, March prices were up 1.1 per cent.

The southern city of Shenzhen continued to be the top performer with home prices rising 61.6 per cent from a year ago, followed by Shanghai with 25 per cent gain.

Prices in the two cities were up 3.7 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively from a month earlier.

China's housing market bottomed out in the second half of 2015 on a slew of government support measures, but a strong rebound in prices in the biggest cities has sparked concerns that some markets may be overheating, driving local authorities to tightening purchasing rules in late March.