The People's Bank of China said yesterday that total outstanding loans from major financial institutions to the country's property market climbed 40.2 percent from a year earlier at the end of June.

However, the figure is 4.1 percentage points lower than that at the end of March, the central bank said on its website.

Further, new yuan loans extended to the property market in the first half of 2010 topped 1.38 trillion yuan (US$203.5 billion), according to the statement.

New lending to property developers stood at 162.5 billion yuan during the first six months of 2010.

Total outstanding loans to property developers rose 26.1 percent year on year at the end of June, down 5 percentage points compared with the end of March and down 4.5 percentage points from the end of 2009.

Total outstanding loans provided for home purchases grew 49.6 percent from a year ago at the end of June.