China Jan-Nov property investment growth slows to 1.3% on year

[BEIJING] Growth in China's real estate investment slowed to 1.3 per cent in the first 11 months of this year from the same period a year ago, though the area of property sold rose 7.4 per cent, official data showed on Saturday.

The weak investment growth, reported by the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS), compared with an increase of 2.0 per cent in January-October.

The rise in sales by area was a touch below the 7.2 per cent annual rise in January-October.

A cooling property market has weighed heavily on China's economy over the past year. Real estate investment, which directly affects about 40 other business sectors in China, is considered to be a crucial growth driver.

While home sales and prices have improved in bigger Chinese cities in recent months after a barrage of government support measures, conditions remain weak in smaller cities and a huge overhang of unsold houses is discouraging new investment and construction.

REUTERS