GROWTH in China’s property investment cooled in November as an official crackdown on riskier lending and stiffer regulation of the real estate market took effect.

Property investment growth eased for a second straight month to 4.6 percent in November from a year earlier, the slowest pace since July 2016, according to National Bureau of Statistics data. Investment growth was 5.6 percent in October.

But new construction starts measured by floor area, a telling indicator of developers’ confidence, were up a sharp 18.8 percent in November from a year earlier, after falling 4.3 percent in October.

Developers’ land purchases measured by area rose 16.3 percent in the first 11 months of the year, compared with 12.9 percent in the January-October period.

“Overall, the investment level is pretty steady, which could be explained by property developers’ enthusiasm in land bids despite the property purchase curbs,” said Yan Yuejin, an analyst with Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute.

Yan suggested the land bids could be due to a rise in local government land supply toward the year-end.

Property sales by floor area reached a five-month high in November, rising 5.3 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 6 percent decline in October, showing considerable resilience. (SD-Agencies)