Property investment up 21.6% in first 4 months

Real estate investment in China rose by 21.6 percent to 4.02 trillion yuan ($624 billion) during the first four months of the year from a year ago, official data showed on Monday.

Nearly 3.02 trillion yuan of the total was used for residential development, up 24.4 percent on a yearly basis, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Property investment growth slowed down during the four months compared to an increase of 25.6 percent in the first three months, further eclipsed by a 28.8 percent rise in residential property investment between January and March from a year ago, it said.