China's commercial housing sales slip in Nov.

Dampened by the government's grip over the property market, commercial housing sales in China slipped 1.2 percent year-on-year in November, according to data released Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The total area of commercial housing sold during the month dipped 1.7 percent year-on-year, while the sector's climate index, which reflects overall conditions in the sector, fell to 99.87 points from October's 100.27 points, the NBS said. Meanwhile, the floor areas of commercial houses sold during the January-November period totaled 895.94 million square meters, up 8.5 percent over the previous year, with the sales volume rising 16 percent to reach 4.9 trillion yuan (about 774 billion U.S. dollars), according to the NBS. Between January and November, investment in the property sector rose 29.9 percent year-on-year to reach 5.55 trillion yuan nationwide, of which 3.99 trillion yuan went into residential projects, an increase of 32.8 percent from the same period last year. The investment growth rate in the property sector in the period was down 1.2 percentage points compared to the first 10 months, a slowdown in line with the current falling housing prices and sales. Earlier this year, the Chinese government rolled out a slew of measures, including higher mortgage rates and purchase restrictions, to clamp down on speculation in housing market.