Property market rebounds but housing stocks flat

China's property sector staged a revival in March, with real estate investment, sales, housing new starts and funding all rebounding strongly.

Real estate investment, which accounted for a fifth of total investment, in the first quarter expanded 6.2 percent from a year earlier, up from 3 percent in the first two months and 1 percent in 2015, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Housing sales, which often preludes investment, surged 54.1 percent from a year earlier, up from 43.6 percent in the first two months, while in volume terms sales rose 33.1 percent.