(Correct to add percentage indicator in headline)
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s property investment fell 5.8% from a year earlier in the first three months of 2023, from a 5.7% decline in January-February, official data showed on Tuesday.
Property sales by floor area declined 1.8% year-on-year in the first quarter of the year, versus a 3.6% fall seen in the first two months, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
New construction starts measured by floor area fell 19.2% in January-March from a year earlier, after a 9.4% drop in the first two months.
Funds raised by China’s property developers slumped 9.0% year-on-year in the first three months, after a 15.2% slump in January-February.
China’s property sector, once a key driver of the world’s second-largest economy, has been hit by a regulatory crackdown on developers’ high debt levels, which led to stalled housing projects and homebuyers boycotting mortgage repayments.
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(This story has been refiled to add percentage indicator in the headline)
(Reporting by Ella Cao, Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Sam Holmes)