The Chinese government's supportive policies for the real estate market and rising demand from housing upgraders ensured that home-buying sentiment was sustained in the first two months of the year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
Sales of new homes in China jumped 49.2 percent from the same period a year ago to 743.5 billion yuan ($114.3 billion) between January and February, compared with the 16.6 percent annual rise in 2015, the bureau said in a statement.
New homes totaling 100.56 million square meters were sold in the first two months, a year-on-year surge of 30.4 percent. That compared with an annual gain of 6.9 percent in 2015.
"Accumulative impact from a series of easing measures launched over the past year, including interest rates cuts, reduced down payment requirement and adjusted housing provident fund policies, have proved to be effective among home buyers," said Li Jiao, a senior statistician at the bureau. "Secondly, upgrading demand has become a key engine to fuel housing consumption around the country."
Real estate investment in all property types accelerated for the first time in two years amid a rebound in property sales, the bureau said.
Investment in real estate development nationwide climbed 3 percent year on year to 905.2 billion yuan in the first two months of 2016, compared with the 1 percent gain in 2015.
Investment in housing, which accounts for two thirds of the total property investment, added 1.8 percent between January and February. Last year, housing investment added 0.4 percent.
The bureau warned against property sales continuing to climb due to rising supplies nationwide, difficulties in destocking and surging land prices in some cities.
