BEIJING, March 15 Reuters New home prices in China rose at their fastest pace in five months in February, official data showed on Monday, as redhot demand for property in the worldssecond largest economy largely eclipsed government efforts to cool the market.

Monthly house price gains were reported by the highest number of cities since August, while separate data showed property investment soared in the first two months of 2021. It comes as China has vowed to stick to its houses are not for speculation policy.

Average new home prices in 70 major cities grew 0.4 in February from a 0.3 gain in January, according to Reuters calculations based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. New home prices rose 4.3 in February from a low base last year, after a 3.9 increase in January.

Real estate, a key pillar of Chinas economy, has helped fuel the countrys robust economic recovery from last years coronavirushit to output.

But an extended surge in home prices in recent months has raised concerns about speculative asset bubbles, prompting tighter regulations to close loopholes in home transactions and contain illegal fundflows into the sector.

Although the various regulatory debt curbs are expected to impact land acquisition by developers, investment was underpinned by the control of coronavirus epidemic and overall improving macro economy, said Yan Yuejin, director of the Shanghaibased Ehouse China Research and Development Institution.

Chinas real estate…