1st LD-Writethru: China's property investment, sales slow in first 11 months

BEIJING, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Both investment and sales in China's property sector slowed in the first 11 months as the market remained cool amid government policies to curb speculation.

Real estate investment rose 7.5 percent year on year in the first 11 months of 2017, down from 7.8 percent in the first 10 months, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.

Investment in residential property, which accounts for 68.4 percent of total investment in the sector, rose 9.7 percent year on year, down from 9.9 percent in the first 10 months.

Property sales in terms of floor area climbed 7.9 percent in the first 11 months, retreating from 8.2 percent in the January-October period, NBS data showed.

By the end of November, 596.06 million square meters of property remained unsold, down by 6.53 million square meters from a month earlier.

Chinese authorities have been stepping up efforts to rein in property speculation this year after rocketing housing prices fueled asset bubble concerns, particularly in major cities.

Dozens of local governments have passed or expanded restrictions on house purchases and increased the minimum down payments required for mortgages.

The property market was also cooled by relatively tightened liquidity conditions as the government moved to contain leverage and risk in the financial system.

In October, new residential housing prices saw slower growth in 13 of the 15 major cities on a yearly basis, NBS data showed. On a month-on-month basis, new residential housing prices fell in 9 of the 15 cities. Enditem