China's Massive Market Of First-Time Buyers Continues To Drive Home Prices Higher

REUTERS/Stringer

Houses, which have been built atop a furniture shopping mall, are pictured in Hengyang, Hunan province, July 30, 2013. According to local media, the 25 houses built without permission from the government are now being used as dormitories for employees of the shopping mall but are not allowed for sale.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's monthly property inflation moderated for a fourth straight month in July, although annual gains were the strongest this year, complicating policymakers' task of trying to cool the sector without stifling growth elsewhere.

Real estate, which directly affects about 40 other business sectors in China, is considered to be one of the crucial drivers of activity in the world's second-largest economy.

Signs of a gathering recovery in the property market coincide with other July data that suggested China may be steadying after more than two years of slumping growth.