Fresh signs of softness in China property market

[BEIJING] China's property market showed further signs of weakening last month, with real estate investment slowing and sales falling sharply despite efforts by many local governments to shore up the troubled sector.

Combined with July activity data released over the past week, the figures suggest that softness in the housing market is increasingly becoming a drag on other parts of world's second-largest economy.

Property investment grew 13.7 per cent in the first seven months from a year ago, down from an annual rise of 14.…