China property investment up 33.6%

BEIJING: China's annual real estate investment growth quickened to 33.6% in the first seven months from a year earlier, and compared with an increase of 32.9% in the first half, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.

Property sales rose 13.6% in the January-July period from a year earlier in terms of floor space and gained 26.1% in terms of value, the agency said in a statement on its website, www.stats.gov.cn.

The data came after the country announced last month that it would expand home purchase restrictions to smaller cities, where prices had risen faster than in major cities.

By Reuters