CHINA Vanke Co yesterday said property sales in the first three quarters of this year jumped more than 50 percent to 71.42 billion yuan (US$10.7 billion), exceeding the figure for the entire 2009.

The nation's largest listed developer sold a total of 6.01 million square meters of new houses during the nine-month period, an increase of 17 percent from the same period a year ago, according to a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

In September alone, the Shenzhen-based firm realized sales of 14.21 billion yuan, remaining above the 10 billion yuan barrier for the second consecutive month. It was also a record monthly high for Chinese real estate developers. By area, about 1.14 million square meters of new space were sold, a year-on-year growth of 111 percent, Vanke said.

"Robust supply of new homes, coupled with a large proportion of small- to medium-sized apartments, continued to fuel Vanke's sales in September," said Tan Huajie, board secretary of Vanke. "However, home buying momentum would probably slow down across the country in the fourth quarter as a new round of rein-in measures takes effect."

Apartments no larger than 90 square meters accounted for 57 percent of the total sold in September, according to the company.

China on September 29 unveiled another round of nationwide policies to further tighten mortgage lending in its continuous effort to clamp down on property speculation.

Banks have been ordered to stop providing mortgages to buyers of third or more homes while individuals buying their first houses must plunk down at least 30 percent, instead of 20 percent, of the total price, according to a statement released by the State Council.

In Shanghai, the city government last Thursday unveiled a new set of policies to press the brakes harder, with the toughest measure being a cap on the number of homes a family can purchase.

A family is now allowed to buy only one home in the city "for a certain period of time," a move that has been in effect in Beijing since May 1.