In April this year, of 70 major Chinese cities surveyed, new house prices in first-tier cities rose by 0.1 percent month on month, compared to the rise of 0.2 percent seen in March, while decreasing by 2.1 percent year on year, 0.1 percentage point slower compared to the year-on-year decrease in March this year, as announced by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
In China’s second-tier cities, prices of second-hand houses in April saw a year-on-year decline of 5.9 percent, with the pace of the decline 0.3 percentage points slower compared to that recorded in March, while down 0.2 percent month on month. In third-tier cities, second-hand house prices in April saw a year-on-year decrease of 6.3 percent, with the pace of the decline 0.1 percentage point slower compared to that recorded in March, while down 0.3 percent month on month.
The real estate industry is a key industry for steel demand. New house prices in first-tier cities decreased by 2.1 percent year on year in April, reflecting weak demand for steel, especially for steel bars, resulting in more steel bars being directed to the export market. In the first four months, China’s exports of steel bars totaled 6.05 million mt, up 5.9 percent year on year
In April, new house prices in first-tier cities rose by 0.1 percent month on month. In the January-April period this year, total real estate investments in China amounted to RMB 2396.9 billion ($350.4 billion), down 13.7 percent year on year, 2.5 percentage points faster than the decline recorded in the January-March period, indicating a sluggish performance in the real estate industry, which may exert a negative impact on the demand for steel.
