BANKS’ lending to China’s property sector fell 23.3 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months, Reuters calculations from central bank data showed Tuesday, another sign of cooling momentum in the housing market.

    Chinese banks lent 570 billion yuan (US$93.24 billion) to homebuyers and property developers between July and September this year, easing from the second quarter’s 743 billion yuan and down 5 percent from a year ago.

    Reduced demand for property loans reflects sluggish sales as developers struggled with high inventories and banks became more cautious about lending to developers and investors.

    For the first nine months, total property loans issued hit 2.1 trillion yuan, up 213 billion yuan from a year ago, the central bank said on its website.

    Outstanding mortgages by the end of September were up 17.5 percent from a year ago, but down a shade from end June’s 18.4 percent rise, it said.(SD-Agencies)