China’s Housing Values Decline in First Month of 2026

(MENAFN) China’s property market deterioration persisted into 2026’s opening month, with housing values declining across most major metropolitan areas amid weakening real estate investments and sluggish sales activity, the National Bureau of Statistics announced Friday.

Both newly constructed and pre-owned residential properties experienced price contractions throughout the nation’s large and mid-tier urban centers during January.

Fresh construction values dropped 2.1% year-over-year across top-tier metropolises including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. The decline steepened to 2.9% annually in 31 major secondary cities, while 35 medium-scale tertiary markets witnessed a 3.9% annual decrease, official data revealed.

Shanghai bucked the trend among premier cities, with new residential prices in the nation’s most densely populated municipality surging 4.2% in January compared to the corresponding 2025 period.

Pre-owned property values fell more sharply—plummeting 7.6% year-over-year in first-tier cities, 6.2% in second-tier markets, and 6.1% in third-tier urban areas.

China’s new housing prices have slid continuously since April 2022, pressured by the post-pandemic real estate slowdown and mounting debt burdens plaguing property developers.

Property sector investments contracted 9.6% in 2023, accelerated to a 10.6% drop in 2024, and plunged 17.2% throughout 2025.

Beijing has slashed lending rates and minimum down payment requirements to jumpstart housing demand, while municipal authorities deployed various stimulus measures—including tax breaks, regulatory easing, and purchase subsidies—yet these interventions have failed to produce meaningful, broad-based market stabilization.

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