NEW home buying in China extended its momentum in the first six months of this year despite a continuously decelerating pace, according to data released today by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Sales of new residential properties, excluding government-funded affordable housing, advanced 46 percent to 2.82 trillion yuan (US$456 billion) between January and June, the bureau said on its website.

That compared to the 56.8 percent annual growth between January and May and the 65.2 percent gain registered in the first four months.

By volume, new home purchases climbed 30 percent to 460.9 million square meters during the first half, also slowing from the 37.6 percent rise in the first five months and the 41 percent growth recorded in the January-April period, according to the bureau.

Based on the differences between the bureau's data for the first half and the first five months of this year, new home sales in June jumped 31 percent from May to 109.2 million square meters, while by value, they rose 24 percent to 624.4 billion yuan.

Investment in housing projects, meanwhile, increased 20.8 percent year on year to 2.52 trillion yuan in the first six months of this year, little changed from the pace in the first five months, according to the bureau.