BEIJING — Loans to the real estate sector in China continued to grow by the end of 2016, data from the central bank showed on Jan 20.

By the end of December 2016, financial institutions in China had lent 26.68 trillion yuan ($3.9 trillion) to the property sector, up 27 percent year on year, according to a report from the People’s Bank of China.

Outstanding loans for real estate development amounted to 5.66 trillion yuan at the end of December, up 12.2 percent year on year, while loans for individual purchases jumped 35 percent year on year to 19.14 trillion yuan.

China’s investment in property development gained steam in 2016, as investors continued to start new projects amid surging house prices, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Jan 20.

Investment in real estate development grew 6.9 percent year on year in 2016, 1.1 percentage points faster than in the first three quarters, and 5.9 percentage points faster than a year earlier.

Housing sales maintained steady growth. In terms of floor area, property sales jumped 22.5 percent, while in terms of value, sales rose 34.8 percent.

By the end of December, 695.4 million square meters of property remained unsold in China, down 3.2 percent year on year.

China’s property market has become increasingly diversified, with major cities reporting record prices and smaller cities struggling to reduce inventory.