China property investment up 7.8% in Sept

Beijing

SEPTEMBER'S investment in Chinese real estate showed its strongest growth since May as booming construction, sales and prices contributed handsomely to third quarter economic expansion of 6.7 per cent - offsetting stubbornly weak exports.

Property investment rose 7.8 per cent in September from a year earlier, compared with 6.2 per cent in August, according to Reuters calculations based on data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday.

But real estate developers may have become more cautious of taking on new developments, fearing a fall in sales momentum if the government imposes more tightening measures to prevent a property bubble, analysts say. New construction starts fell 19.4 per cent in September month, suggesting that sentiment among builders…