BUSINESS

China’s Housing Slump Deepens as New-Home Sales Fall to Pre-2010 Levels

Published: Jan. 8, 2026 6:48 p.m. GMT+8

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Residential buildings in Huaian, Jiangsu province. Photo: VCG

China’s property market slump deepened in 2025, with new-home sales shrinking to levels not seen before 2010 and falling by roughly half from their 2021 peak, according to an influential industry analyst.

Total sales area for new commercial properties in 2025 was approximately 890 million square meters, a year-on-year drop of about 9%, while sales value fell approximately 13% to 8.4 trillion yuan ($1.2 trillion), said Ding Zuyu, co-president of real estate consultancy China Real Estate Information Corp. (CRIC), at an annual conference on Wednesday.

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China’s new-home sales area and value in 2025 fell by about 50% from 2021 peaks, with sales at 890 million m² and 8.4 trillion yuan.
New housing starts in 2025 dropped 74% from 2019 levels; second-hand home sales in 30 key cities hit a five-year high but prices dropped 39% from their peak.
The property market faces ongoing risks due to persistent price declines and high inventories, despite stable transaction volumes in second-hand markets.

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Who’s Who

China Real Estate Information Corp.: China Real Estate Information Corp. (CRIC) is a real estate consultancy. Ding Zuyu, co-president of CRIC, provided analysis on China's property market slump at an annual conference. CRIC monitors key cities, reporting on new and second-hand home sales data and trends.

Ke Holdings Inc.: Ke Holdings Inc. (贝壳找房) is mentioned as the source of data on the average transaction price for second-hand homes in 30 key cities. Their data indicates that the average transaction price for second-hand homes had fallen 39% from their peak as of 2025.

AI generated, for reference only