Shanghai's commercial real estate and housing sales dropped 13.8 percent year-on-year in 2011 as government curbs cooled the market.

Property developers sold 17.7 million square meters of commercial real estate and housing last year, said Yan Jun, chief economist with the Shanghai municipal bureau of statistics, on Friday.

Housing sales fell 12.6 percent annually to 14.7 million square meters, Yan told a press briefing.

Yan also said that the rapid rise in property prices in Shanghai had been markedly curbed.

Prices of new commercial apartments slipped around 0.3 percent month-on-month in the last quarter, down from a 1.1 percent month-on-month rise last January and zero growth in the third quarter, data showed.

Property investment in China's financial and business center rose 9.6 percent year-on-year to 217 billion yuan (34.4 billion U.S. dollars). Of the total, 22.1 percent was spent on building affordable housing.

Other major cities, such as Beijing and Guangzhou, also have reported sagging real estate prices following tough regulatory measures, including purchasing limit, higher lending rates, higher down payment for second homes, a ban on mortgage loans on third homes and building of affordable housing.

Commercial housing sales in Beijing and Guangzhou in 2011 declined 13.9 percent and 15.2 percent, respectively.

China's real estate market is expected to face further pressure as the central government intends to maintain last year's control measures this year.

High home prices have long been a source of complaints, with many middle-income earners unable to afford new apartments.

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