The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting to analyze the economic situation in the first half of the year and the economic work for the second half. The meeting proposed that economic work in the second half will continue to follow the principle of “seeking progress while maintaining stability,” ensuring the completion of the year's main tasks for economic and social development. Notably, the meeting's phrasing of “promoting the steady and healthy development of the real estate market” made no mention of regulation, possibly expressing the leadership's new attitude toward the real estate market.

　　Real estate recovery drives construction machinery to stabilize and rebound

　　According to China Construction Machinery Business Network, after a brief adjustment in the first quarter, the real estate market has re-entered a prosperous operating range. In the first half of the year, national real estate land supply reached 82,400 hectares, up 38.8% year on year, the highest in history, of which residential land supply was 55,300 hectares, up 36.9% year on year; from January to May, funds available to real estate development enterprises totaled 4.5 trillion yuan, up 32.0% year on year, enterprises' enthusiasm for land acquisition rose and shifted back to first-tier cities and some second-tier cities, real estate land supply in key cities grew by more than 30%, and the growth in residential land supply in first-tier cities was significantly higher than the national level.

　　Under these circumstances, the Real Estate Manager Confidence Index also hit a three-year high of 60.85; the index's previous peak appeared in early 2011 at 60.2, after which property market regulation policies centered on purchase restrictions were introduced and the index declined continuously.

　　On the other hand, the government has frequently issued favorable policies on shantytown renovation. In the five years from 2008 to 2012, 12.6 million households in various types of shantytowns nationwide began renovation, accounting for 40% of the 31 million units (households) of urban affordable housing projects started in the same period, and 7.5 million resettlement housing units for various shantytown renovations were basically completed. Since the new government took office, shantytown renovation has been listed as one of the key contents of urbanization construction.

　　It is reported that in the next five years, another 10 million households in various types of shantytowns in cities, state-owned industrial and mining areas, forest areas, and reclamation areas will be renovated, of which 3.04 million households will be renovated in 2013. Comprehensive estimates show that this policy will drive investment of 2.4 trillion yuan across various fields and spur the development of more than 40 related industries, including construction, building materials (steel, cement, glass, etc.), and construction machinery.