REAL estate investment and sales in China both quickened in May, pointing to continuing momentum as the property sector gradually recovers from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Real estate investment in May rose 8.1 percent from a year earlier, up from 7 percent growth the previous month, according to media calculations based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics yesterday.

For the first five months of the year, property investment fell 0.3 percent on year, far less than in previous months as the economy begins to slowly emerge from its coronavirus shutdown.

Consumption remains soft, however.

Property sales by floor area jumped 9.7 percent in May, the fastest pace since July 2018 and compared with a 2.1 percent fall in April.

New construction starts measured by floor area rose 2.5 percent last month, compared with a 1.3 percent drop in April.

Funds raised by China’s property developers fell 6.1 percent in the January-May period, compared with a 10.4 percent drop for the first four months of 2020.

“May data showed that the impact from the epidemic has gone and China’s property market will continue to heat up going forward,” said Zhang Dawei, a Beijing-based analyst with property agency Centaline.

Separately, China’s average new home prices in 70 major cities rose 0.5 percent in May from the prior month, matching the pace in April, calculations showed.

Values in the secondary market, which is largely free from government intervention, gained 0.24 percent, the fastest pace in seven months.

On an annual basis, home prices expanded 4.9 percent in May, slightly less than April’s 5.1 percent pace.(SD-Agencies)