Growth in China’s real estate investment slowed to 3.5 percent in the first eight months of this year from the same period a year ago, though the area of property sold rose 7.2 percent, official data showed on Sunday.
The weak rise in investment, reported by the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS), compared with an increase of 4.3 percent in January-July.
The rise in sales by area compared with a 6.1 percent annual rise in January-July.
A cooling property market has weighed heavily on the 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.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 13 Sep 2015