By YANG? Bingke

Chinese real estate market is continuing steadily downward in terms of investment, construction and sales.

Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China on August 15 reveals a simultaneous decline in investment and in sales.

From January to July, investment reached 6.8 trillion yuan (US$930 billion), down 8.5 percent year on year. Residential investment fell by 7.6 percent. In terms of construction, the residential building area decreased by 7.1 percent. The new construction area was down by a quarter.

Housing sales are down 6.5 percent in terms of area, but only 1.5 percent in terms of revenue. The average price of commercial housing decreased slightly to 10,584 yuan per square meter, down for the second month.

Although recent signals from central authorities and local governments indicate possible policy adjustments to boost confidence, recovery may take time. A key challenge lies in stimulating demand in first and second-tier cities. While cities like Zhengzhou and Nanjing have already adjusted policies, the effects are yet to be seen. The central government has also mentioned optimizing policies to support home purchases and meet demand.