CHINA

Beijing Pivots to ‘Destocking’ as Housing Glut Weighs on Recovery

Published: Mar. 5, 2026 11:44 p.m. GMT+8

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The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5. Photo: Xinhua

China’s government is pivoting its real estate policy toward reducing the country’s vast inventory of unsold homes, marking a strategic shift outlined in the annual government work report that drops an earlier emphasis on simply trying to stop the market’s decline.

In the report delivered at the opening of the National People’s Congress on Thursday, Premier Li Qiang said the country would “work to stabilize the property market.” Efforts will focus on “controlling new supply based on city-specific conditions, destocking, and optimizing supply.”

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China’s 2025 policy shift focuses on reducing its 766 million sqm unsold commercial housing, moving from halting decline to destocking and supply optimization.
Measures include state purchase and conversion of unsold apartments into social housing and restricting new supply based on city conditions.
In 2025, real estate investment fell 17.2% to 8.3 trillion yuan, sales dropped 12.6% to 8.4 trillion yuan, and 28 provinces planned bonds to buy idle land.

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What Happened When

Second half of 2021：: China’s prolonged property crisis began.

September 2024：: Politburo meeting used the phrase 'halting the decline and stabilizing the market' as a central real estate policy slogan.

2025：: The slogan 'halting the decline and stabilizing the market' was reiterated in the 2025 government work report.

2025：: Real estate development investment fell 17.2% to 8.3 trillion yuan; new commercial housing sales fell 12.6% to 8.4 trillion yuan.

Late 2025：: Central Economic Work Conference signaled policy shift toward utilizing unsold commercial housing.

End of 2025：: China’s unsold commercial housing inventory was reported at 766 million square meters, a 1.6% increase year-on-year.

As of late February 2026：: 28 provinces and cities had announced plans to use special-purpose bonds to acquire idle land parcels, with bond issuance reaching about 335 billion yuan.

March 5, 2026：: At the National People’s Congress, Premier Li Qiang delivered a government work report outlining a strategic shift in real estate policy towards destocking.

AI generated, for reference only