Update: China's property investment down 2.7 pct

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- China's investment in property development went down 2.7 percent year on year in the first four months of 2022, compared with a 0.7-percent gain seen in the first quarter, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.

The total property investment in the period stood at 3.92 trillion yuan (about 578 billion U.S. dollars), the NBS said.

Investment in residential buildings came in at 2.95 trillion yuan, down 2.1 percent year on year.

Commercial housing sales in terms of floor area totaled 397.68 million square meters in the first four months, down 20.9 percent year on year.

In terms of value, commercial housing sales fell 29.5 percent to 3.78 trillion yuan during the four-month period.

The property development climate index compiled by the NBS came in at 95.89 points in April.

China's financial authorities on Sunday said the lower limit for interest rates on first-home purchase loans will be cut.

The move aims to reinforce the principle that "housing is for living in, not for speculation," support better real estate policies based on local conditions, and promote the healthy development of the country's property market, according to the central bank.