China property sales surge despite efforts to cool market

Beijing

CHINA'S property sales surged in the first two months of the year despite government measures to cool the market, though growth in real estate investment showed signs of easing, according to official data on Tuesday.

Property sales by area rose 25.1 per cent year-on-year in January and February.

That was above the 22.5 per cent annual gain in 2016, which was the strongest annual growth in seven years thanks to a property boom in top-tier cities.

It was also a marked surge from December, when property sales by area rose 11.8 per cent from a yea…