Real estate investment in China fell by 10.1% y/y in January-June

Real estate sales by area in the first half of the year decreased by 19% year-on-year

In the first half of this year, real estate investment in China fell by 10.1% compared to the same period in 2023. This is reported by Reuters with reference to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This figure is in line with the January-May figure and indicates that the sector is still not out of the crisis despite growing political support.

In January-June 2024, real estate sales by area fell by 19% y/y, while new construction by area decreased by 23.7% y/y.

The amount of funds raised by Chinese developers in the first half of 2024 decreased by 22.6% compared to the same period of the previous year.

Although recent support measures taken by the authorities are expected to stimulate demand for real estate in large cities, small towns continue to struggle with excessive housing inventories and sluggish consumer sentiment. The latter emphasizes the urgent need for additional incentives to revive the regional economy.

China reduced steel production by 1.1% y/y – to 530.57 million tons in January-June this year. In June, steel production in the country fell by 1.3% compared to May to 91.61 million tons.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in January-June 2024, the country’s steel companies increased steel exports by 24% year-on-year – to 53.4 million tons. In June, Chinese steelmakers exported 8.74 million tons of steel, down 9.2% m/m.