BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- China's investment in property development continued to rise in the first four months of this year and growth showed increased momentum, official data showed.
Investment in real estate development increased 9.3 percent year on year from January to April, 0.2 percentage points faster than the growth rate registered in the first three months this year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.
Investment in residential properties rose 10.6 percent year on year in the first four months, and the floor space of new residential construction increased 17.5 percent year on year.
Property investment in central China grew 16.8 percent year on year in the same period, faster than the growth rates in eastern and western regions, while property investment in northeastern China declined 13.7 percent.
Housing sales growth eased its pace. In terms of floor area, property sales rose 15.7 percent year on year in the first four months, 3.8 percentage points lower than the first three months, while sales rose 20.1 percent in value over the period, 5 percentage points lower than the first three months.
At the end of April, 674.7 million square meters of property remained unsold in China, decreasing by 13.4 million square meters compared with the end of March.
A single purchase
