BEIJING — China's investment in property development rose 3.4 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2020, widening from the 1.9-percent increase in the first half, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Aug 14.

Total property investment in the period stood at 7.53 trillion yuan (about $1.08 trillion), the NBS said.

Investment in residential buildings came in at 5.57 trillion yuan, up 4.1 percent from the same period last year.

Commercial housing sales in terms of floor area totaled 836.31 million square meters in the first seven months, down 5.8 percent year-on-year.

In terms of value, commercial housing sales fell 2.1 percent year-on-year to 8.14 trillion yuan in the first seven months.

The property development climate index compiled by the NBS went up slightly by 0.24 points from June to 100.09 points in July.

The data on Aug 14 also showed that China's housing market remained generally stable in July, with slower month-on-month growth in home prices in major cities.

New home prices in four first-tier cities — Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen — rose by 0.5 percent month-on-month in July, down 0.1 percentage points from a month earlier, 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.