In the January-October period of this year, total real estate investments in China amounted to RMB 10.9603 trillion ($1.6 trillion), up 10.3 percent year on year, with this growth rate 0.2 percentage points lower compared to that recorded in the January-September period this year, as announced by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
However, the main indicators influencing steel demand - real estate sales and new construction starts - posted positive growth.
In the January-October period, new commercial real estate sold in China covered a total area of 1332.51 million m2, up 0.1 percent on year-on-year basis, shifting from a year-on-year decline to an increase for the first time this year.
At the same time, the total area covered by new construction activity in China in the first ten months of the year increased by 10.0 percent, up 1.4 percentage points compared to an increase rate of 8.6 percent in the January-September period.
However, market analysts think that overall sales activities in China’s real estate market will unlikely continue their fast growth as China’s central government has stressed that housing is for living in rather than for speculating on, which will weaken demand for rebar and wire rod.