by XIN Yuan

China said on Friday that its prolonged property downturn remains a major drag on fixed-asset investment, highlighting the sector's continued pressure on the broader economy even as Beijing steps up growth-support measures.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed fixed-asset investment excluding rural households fell 1.7% in January–October from a year earlier. Real-estate investment dropped 14.7% over the same period, dragging overall investment growth down by around 3 percentage points, NBS spokesperson FU Linghui said.

Fu described the housing market as being in a "transition phase" and said month-to-month swings are likely as developers remain under financial strain and sales stay weak. He said China is moving away from its old, debt-driven model of housing expansion and that the adjustment will take time.

There were signs of destocking: nationwide housing inventory fell for an eighth straight month to 756 million square meters at end-October, helped by measures to curb new supply and shift unsold homes.

Beijing has stepped up support in recent weeks, accelerating the rollout of 500 billion yuan in policy-based financing tools and expanding local-government borrowing capacity. Analysts say the measures could help ease pressure on housing-related investment, though their overall impact will take time to emerge.

Fu said some indicators will remain volatile during the transition and cautioned against reading too much into short-term swings, noting the adjustment will take time as the sector moves to a more sustainable footing.