China's national property climate index, which reflects overall conditions in the sector, declined further last month from October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.

The index was 98.46 in November, down 1.22 points from October, the agency said.

The index has been falling since it peaked at 106.59 in November last year. It dipped below 100 in October, at 99.68.

The index includes a package of figures used to measure investments, sales and land under development. A reading of above 100 is positive while one below that level indicates weak conditions. The base of the index is March 1995.

About 2.7 trillion yuan (US$387.5 billion) was pumped into real estate development nationwide in the first 11 months of the year, up 22.7 percent year-on-year. But the growth rate was 1.9 percentage points lower than the January-October level.

Between January and November, total sales were 490 million sq m, down 18.3 percent year-on-year. Residential sales fell 18.8 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency December 14, 2008)