China's real estate climate index stood at 101.57 points in September, a month-on-month drop of 0.29 points, or 3.46 points lower than a year earlier, said a monthly report released Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The real estate climate index is a composite index reflecting the current situation and development trend of the Chinese real estate market.

According to the report, four sub-indices dropped in September from the previous month, including the source of capital, the area of land developed, the floor space of buildings under construction and the floor space of marketable unsold buildings, yet the investment in the development of real estate rose.

In the first nine months this year, the investment in the development of real estate rose 0.03 points year-on-year. By the end of September, there were 109 million square meters of new housing left unsold and unused, up 10.8 percent year-on-year.

The report also reveals that 1.37 billion square meters of houses have been constructed during the January-September period, up 18.6 percent year-on-year. Besides, 121.95 million square meters of land has been developed, down 0.5 percent year-on-year.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2005)