BEIJING---Home sales in China grew at a faster pace in 2020 amid robust property activity after the easing of coronavirus restrictions.
Home sales by volume, a major indicator of demand, rose 10.8% in 2020 from the previous year, according to data released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics. That followed a 9.5% increase in the January-November period.
Property investment, including in commercial and residential real estate, rose 7.0% last year, extending the 6.8% increase in the first 11 months of the year.
Construction starts remained in contraction territory for the year, falling 1.2%, compared with the 2.0% decline in the first 11 months.
Although home sales by volume bounced back to pre-Covid levels, the property market shows signs of softening as average home prices in China's major cities have grown at a slower pace, according to a separate set of data that the statistics bureau released Friday.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural in early January reiterated that "houses are for living, not for speculation" and some economists expect more marginal tightening in property policies in the coming months.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-17-21 2121ET
