According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday the real estate development industry maintained a strong momentum in May despite a slight dip in the monthly index.

The May index for real estate development registered 0.37 points lower than in April. This was the first time this year that the index slipped on a monthly basis.

According to NBS, the continuous expansion of the real estate industry was mainly due to rapidly growing investment and newly started buildings.

The area of newly started buildings totaled 117 million square meters in the first five months of the year, increasing 31 percent over the same period of last year. Apartment buildings made up the bulk of the new starts, growing 29.5 percent year-on-year to 97.89 million square meters.

According to the NBS, since the beginning of the year, the amount of investment actually made in real estate development has been growing rapidly. During January to May, investment actually reached 230 billion yuan, an increase of 41.3 percent over the same period last year.

The prices for buildings were also on the rise during the period, growing 12.3 percent year-on-year to 2,368 yuan per square meter. The prices of housing rose to 2,197 yuan per square meter.

(06/19/2001) (Xinhua News Agency)