BEIJING, Jan 23 (Reuters) - China's real estate market fell more steeply in December, despite recent measures to stimulate demand, a government website said on Friday citing official figures.
Residential property sales, expressed in area terms, fell 20.3 percent in 2008. That was sharper than the 18.8 percent fall in the first 11 months compared to a year earlier, wwww.china.com.cn said, citing figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.
Unsold residential property increased to 90.69 million square meters by the end of December, up 32.3 percent from a year earlier, as compared with an rise of 22.9 percent in the first 11 months, it said.
The deterioration in the market came despite Beijing's stepping up its efforts to help the ailing sector by cutting taxes and easing restrictions on purchases of second homes.
Sales of commercial property, including retail and office space, reached 620 million square meters, down 19.7 percent on the year. These sales had dropped 18.3 percent in the January-November period, it said.
Sales revenues of residential property fell 20.1 percent in 2008, slightly better than the drop of 20.6 percent in the first 11 months, according to the website. (Reporting by Langi Chiang; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)