According to the Ministry of Statistics, from January through May of 2012, a total of 288 million square meters or 3.1 trillion square feet of real estate changed hands, a reduction of 12.4 percent from the same period last year; the rate of the decline decreased by 1 percent compared to January through April. The total sales volume was 1,693 billion yuan or US$266 billion, down 9.1 percent compared to the same period last year; the rate of decline decreased by 2.7 percent compared to January through April.
Of the total number of real estate transactions, residential housing space was down 13.5 percent, office space went up 3.6 percent, and commercial buildings fell 1.4 percent. The total sales volume for residential housing declined by 10.6 percent while the office space went down 8.7 percent, and commercial buildings rose 3.9 percent.
In terms of the total decline in real estate space, the eastern region was the highest at 14.1 percent. The central region was second at 10.2 percent and the western region was 11.1 percent.
By the end of May, 307 million square meters or 3.3 trillion square feet of real estate space remained unsold, up 4.32 million square meters or 46.5 million square feet from April. Of the unsold real estate, residential space went up by 2.7 million square meters or 29 million square feet, office space went up by 60,000 square meters or 645,600 square feet, and commercial buildings went up by 430,000 square meters or 4.62 million square feet.
Source: Xinhua, June 9, 2012
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