China's property market transactions up in October

BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Transaction volume of new homes in China went up 0.9 percent year on year in October, reversing a decline since June last year, as the government introduced a series of measures to prop up the market, the latest figures showed on Friday.

Second-hand home transactions rose for the seventh month by 8.9 percent year on year in October, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said.

On a monthly basis, transaction volume of new homes increased 6.7 percent and that of second-hand homes moved up 4.5 percent in October.

Dubbed "Golden September and Silver October" by the property market, the two months are considered a peak sales season in the second half of the year. Typically, September is the stronger of the two months as property developers push to hit third-quarter targets.

The ministry said that it was the first time since 2007 that October transactions exceeded those in September.