FILE PHOTO: A man walks on a pedestrian bridge near residential buildings in Beijing, China October 17, 2024. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) -Property investment in China declined 12.0% in the first seven months of the year from the same period last year, after dropping 11.2% in the first half, official data showed on Friday.

Property sales by floor area fell 4.0% year-on-year, compared with a 3.5% drop in the first six months of the year.

New construction starts measured by floor area slumped 19.4%, after contracting 20% in the January-to-June period.

Funds raised by China's property developers in the first seven months of the year were down 7.5%, versus a 6.2% drop in the first half.

(Reporting by Yukun Zhang, Liangping Gao and Kevin Yao; Editing by Sam Holmes)