China's property sales and investment accelerated, adding to signs that growth in the world's third-largest economy is recovering.

Sales rose 45.3 percent to 1 trillion yuan in the first five months from a year earlier and real estate investment growth quickened to 6.8 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Sales grew 35.4 percent in the first four months.

"As developers run down inventory rapidly, they will soon start to buy land and increase spending again," said Frank Gong, chief China economist and strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co in Hong Kong. "Property investment, which accounts for 10 percent of China's GDP and is a trigger for growth in related sectors, will become a strong driving force in China's recovery."