BEIJING (Reuters) – The amount of loans approved for “whitelist” development projects across China has reached 3.6 trillion yuan ($494.80 billion) as of the end of November, Housing and Urban-rural Development Vice Minister Dong Jianguo said on Saturday.

At the same time, 3.24 million housing units have been delivered in China, significantly improving market expectations, according to Dong.

China’s local governments began compiling a “whitelist” of housing projects for loans earlier this year, giving troubled developers a lifeline to obtain funding for a sector that has beset the economy with stuttering growth.

($1 = 7.2756 Chinese yuan)