Economy is recovering but…: China’s real estate market will continue to collapse in 2024

class = “sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc”>

The real estate market is particularly important for China. The continuation of the bad trend in this area is even more thought-provoking. New home sales totaled $147 billion in the first two months of this year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday. This corresponds to a decrease of 29.3 percent compared to the same period in 2023. Real estate development investments also decreased by 9 percent compared to the first two months of last year.

The downward trend in investments in the badly affected sector continued. The real estate crisis is seen as a major reason for China’s poor economic performance. Beijing usually publishes some economic data for January and February together due to the Spring Festival, which falls in different months every year. The festival enabled the tourism industry to achieve good things again in 2024. Traditionally, factories come to a standstill during the holiday week, unlike normal.

Signs of good consumption

Otherwise, economic data in the first two months of this year point to a further recovery in China’s struggling economy. Industrial production in the world’s second-largest economy rose seven percent in January and February 2024 compared to the same period last year, the statistics office said in Beijing on Monday. Analysts had expected less strong growth in this key indicator that is important for the economy. Retail sales, a measure of consumption, rose 5.5 percent over the same period; this was slightly above expert expectations.

Statistics Office spokesman Liu Aihua said the economy continues to improve. The economic growth target of around five percent set by the government for this year can be achieved. However, Liu also mentioned a more complex environment for economic development and the ongoing lack of domestic demand. (nim/SDA)

Source :Blick