China topped the world’s list of most real estate investment for the second year running, Bloomberg reported, citing an analysis by Capital Analytics. The country counted some US$197.1 billion worth of real estate transactions, up 23% from 2009 levels. The surge was driven by purchases of development sites, which constituted about 95% of investments in Chinese real estate. China accounted for 34% of the total US$582 billion in transactions worldwide, though this figure marked a drop from its 41% share the previous year. While the value of transactions in China cooled for the second and third quarters of 2010, they surged back up to near-record levels in the fourth quarter. The largest global gain was made by the US, which nearly doubled its transaction value after the property slump of 2008 and 2009.