BEIJING (REUTERS) - China's real estate investment rose 19.2 per cent in the first 10 months of the year from the same period a year earlier, while revenue from property sales rose 32.3 per cent, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday.

The rise in investment compares with an increase of 19.7 per cent for January to September, while the increase in revenue compares with a 33.9 per cent rise in January to September.

Real estate investment, 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.

Property prices have continued to climb in China, defying a general economic slowdown and government efforts to curb them, in large part due to a strong view that property remains one of the best investment options and efforts by local governments to sell land for much-needed revenues.