China's property development investment declines 9 pc in first 2 months

BEIJING: Investment in property development in China declined by 9% year on year, amounting to 1.1842 trillion yuan (approximately $167 billion) in the initial two months of 2024, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Monday.

The sector continued to see a downward trend in investment as sales of newly constructed properties also dropped by 20.5% year on year in terms of floor area, equating to 113.69 million square metres during the same period.

In monetary terms, sales of newly constructed properties decreased by 29.3% year on year to 1.0566 trillion yuan, as the data indicated.

The reduction in investment during the first two months was slightly less severe, with a decrease of 0.6 percentage points from the 9.6% fall in 2023, as reported by NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua at a press conference.

Liu stated that, based on the data for both property sales and house prices, China's property market is currently undergoing adjustment and transformation.

The spokesperson for the NBS highlighted that both the Central Economic Work Conference, held last December, and the annual 'two sessions' conducted earlier this month, had set out clear directives for refining real estate policies and fostering the stable and healthy growth of the real estate market.

Liu explained that by adapting to the developmental trend of new urbanisation and changes in supply and demand within the real estate market, China is accelerating the establishment of a new development model for real estate.

She further added that the nation will increase the construction and provision of government-subsidised housing, whilst also enhancing the fundamental systems for commodity housing to cater to people's basic need for a home and their varying demands for improved housing.
By RSS/Xinhua