Construction of new homes and apartments in urban areas increased 17.1% on the year to 9,006 units in the first six months, but housing construction in rural areas fell 6.5% to 8,576 units.
Of the total new homes and apartments built in the first half, 17,452 units were privately funded, while 130 units were financed from public funds.
In the second quarter of 2014 compared with the year-ago period, housing construction increased 1.5% to 9,312 units, the data showed.