建筑材料5月行业数据点评：地产投资销售表现仍弱，核心城市预期有望先稳

Investment Rating - The report maintains a neutral investment rating for the construction materials industry [2] Core Insights - The real estate investment and sales performance remains weak, but expectations for core cities are likely to stabilize first [2] - National fixed asset investment (excluding rural households) reached 18.80 trillion yuan from January to May 2024, with a year-on-year increase of 4.0%, showing a slight narrowing in growth rate [4][7] - Real estate development investment totaled 4.06 trillion yuan, down 10.1% year-on-year, with residential investment at 3.08 trillion yuan, down 10.6% [4][5] - The sales area of commercial housing was approximately 366 million square meters, down 20.3% year-on-year, with a sales amount of about 3.57 trillion yuan, down 27.9% [5][6] Summary by Sections Real Estate Demand - The fundamental demand remains under pressure, but core cities are expected to hit the bottom first. In May 2024, the sales area was about 74 million square meters, showing a month-on-month increase of 12.24% but a year-on-year decrease of 16.06% [5][6] - The price index for newly built residential properties in 70 large and medium-sized cities decreased by 4.3% year-on-year, while the second-hand residential price index fell by 7.5% [5][6] Real Estate Investment - The downward pressure on development investment remains significant, with new construction area down 24.2% year-on-year. However, the decline in new construction area has narrowed for three consecutive months [6][7] - From January to May 2024, the funds available to real estate developers were approximately 4.26 trillion yuan, down 24.3% year-on-year [6][15] Cement Industry - National cement production from January to May 2024 was 687 million tons, down 9.8% year-on-year, but the decline has narrowed [5][8] - The demand for cement is expected to benefit from the stabilization of construction activities, driven by urban village renovations and government bond issuance [8][10] Glass Industry - The domestic float glass market saw a price increase, with the average price rising to 1693.06 yuan per ton, reflecting a 0.82% increase [9][10] - The industry is expected to experience a balanced supply and demand situation, with significant housing delivery still pending [9][10] Infrastructure Investment - The issuance of special bonds by local governments reached 1.138 trillion yuan from January to May 2024, with a significant increase in issuance in May [7][8] - The government is expected to continue supporting economic recovery through infrastructure projects, which will positively impact the construction materials sector [7][8]