(Correct to add percentage indicator in headline)
BEIJING, April 18 (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.
(Reporting by Ella Cao, Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by
Sam Holmes)
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