Xiamen city became the only city in Fujian province that saw no year-on-year decrease in the prices of newly built residential houses in February, according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBC).

The growth of new housing prices in Xiamen over the past five years reached 27 percent, ranking first among 70 cities on NBS’s watching list.

By contrast, the housing prices in six of the cities – Wenzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Haikou, Jinhua and Tangshan - have fallen to the same level as five years ago. And another 42 cities witnessed a growth of less than 10 percent.

Middle and small-sized houses – namely those less than 90 square meters – are the most popular in Xiamen, with prices soaring by 32 percent over the period.

Despite the firm prices, Xiamen saw a bleak real estate market in February, with 1,943 deals of new houses struck, a drop of 471 from January and 1,096 from last February, down by 38 percent and 59 percent, respectively, according to official figures.