BEIJING — China's investment in property development edged up 1.9 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2020, compared with the 7.7-percent decline during the January-March period, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said July 16.

Total property investment in the period stood at 6.28 trillion yuan (about $898 billion), the NBS said.

Investment in residential buildings came in at 4.64 trillion yuan, up 2.6 percent from the same period last year.

Commercial housing sales in terms of floor area totaled 694.04 million square meters in the first half, down 8.4 percent year-on-year.

In terms of value, commercial housing sales fell 5.4 percent year-on-year to 6.69 trillion yuan in the first half.

The property development climate index compiled by the NBS went up slightly by 0.5 points from May to 99.85 points in June.

The data on July 16 also showed that China's housing market remained generally stable in June, with mild month-on-month increases in home prices in 70 major Chinese cities.

New home prices in four first-tier cities — Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen — rose by 0.6 percent month-on-month in June, according to the NBS.

China has reiterated the principle that "houses are for living in, not speculation." While curbing housing price speculation, the country will also implement city-specific policies in the sector, according to this year's government work report.