BEIJING: Growth in China's real estate investment slowed to 3.5% in the first eight months of this year from the same period a year ago, though the area of property sold rose 7.2%, official data showed.

The weak rise in investment, reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), compared with an increase of 4.3% in January-July.

The rise in sales by area compared with a 6.1% annual rise in January-July.

A cooling property market has weighed heavily on the economy over the past year. Real estate investment, which directly affects about 40 other business sectors in China, is considered to be a crucial growth driver.

While home sales and prices have improved in bigger Chinese cities in recent months after a barrage of government support measures, conditions remain weak in smaller cities and a huge overhang of unsold houses is discouraging new investment and construction.— Reuters