(Yicai) Oct. 18 -- China's property development investment fell 9.1 percent to CNY8.73 trillion (USD2.56 trillion) in the first three quarters, widening by 0.3 percent from the figure in the first eight months of the year, according to the latest official data.

The sales value of commercial residential properties in China dropped 4.6 percent to CNY8.91 trillion in the nine months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed today. The decline in the January to August period was 1.5 percent.

The sales area of commercial residential properties in China plunged 7.5 percent to nearly 848.1 million square meters in the first three quarters of the year from the same period last year. As of Sept. 30, China's unsold commercial properties had a total area of 64,537 sqm, up over 18 percent from a year earlier.

It is quite normal to see adjustments in the real estate sector after a high-speed growth, said Sheng Laiyun, deputy director of the NBS. This is conducive to eliminating outdated capacity and structural optimization and especially helpful for the sector's high-quality and follow-up development, he added.

Except for Beijing, Shanghai, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, most Chinese provincial-level regions reported a decline in commercial residential property sales in the first eight months of the year, said Tan Yiming, analyst at Minsheng Securities. Jiangxi, Guizhou, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region even logged a drop of over 30 percent in both sales value and area, Tan noted.

In the first three quarters of the year, most provincial-level regions saw their income from auctions of land-use rights fall, according to a research note from Zhongtai Securities. In the third quarter, the auctions' premium ratio was no more than 7 percent, down from the second quarter.

Many local governments have begun to ease real estate policies since July to lower costs to buy apartments and increase demand.

First-tier cities adjusted the standards to qualify as first-time apartment buyers. Guangzhou and Shenzhen also lowered mortgage rates, while other cities lifted some purchase restrictions.

China may ease real estate policies from two perspectives in the future, loosening price restrictions in second-tier cities and relaxing the purchase limit in the suburban areas of first-tier cities, since the market recovered slower than expected during the Golden Week holiday, said Chen Xiaotian, chairman at Shanghai Yihan Business Consulting.

For the recovery of the property market, the key remains to solve fundamental issues of residents' employment and income to further stimulate the basic needs to buy apartments and improve living conditions, according to experts.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Futura Costaglione