bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Salina Li

China’s new home prices extended a weak trend in August – falling 0.3 per cent month-over-month in 70 major cities – but showed a marginal improvement from a year earlier as state-led policies stabilised a persistently weak sector.
New home prices have been sliding since April, 2022, on a year-on-year basis but the decline is showing signs of narrowing, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.
Prices fell 3 per cent year-on-year in August, compared with a decline of 3.4 per cent in July and 3.7 per cent recorded in June, according to the data.
First-tier cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou saw prices fall 0.1 per cent last month, compared with a 0.2 per cent drop in July.
Shanghai, the mainland’s commercial capital, bucked the declining trend with a 0.4 per cent improvement. Prices fell across other first-tier cities.
Property prices in second-tier cities, meanwhile, fell 0.3 per cent in August while third-tier cities contracted by 0.4 per cent.
Some positive momentum was observed in August in the primary market indicating that following the market’s seasonal slowdown in July, the market had continued to show signs of stabilising, said Yan Yuejin, vice-president of E-House China Real Estate Research Institute in Shanghai.
The number of cities with home price increases in August rose from six to nine, which was a positive sign, he said. Most notably, more second-tier cities registered growth.
“We believe that latent homebuying demand in second-tier cities remained robust,” Yan said, adding that local governments should implement existing policies to stimulate demand.
Authorities have introduced a series of measures since September to support the housing sector.
Last month, the Beijing municipal government made a surprise move to lift home-purchase restrictions in the city’s outlying areas, a step analysts said could signal similar measures in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Demand, however, has remained lacklustre, with cautious consumers adding to their savings rather than investing in homes.
Developers have been battling a liquidity crunch since a nationwide deleveraging campaign began in late 2020 to rein in massive debt in the sector.
China Evergrande Group’s Hong Kong-listed shares were removed on August 25 following the stock exchange’s decision to delist the group.
Other major developers, including Country Garden, Sunac and Vanke, meanwhile, continued to wrestle with heavy debt burdens.
The pressure on China’s property sector comes as other key indicators have lost momentum, amid weakening domestic consumption and the ongoing trade war with the US.
Retail sales, a major gauge of consumption, rose by 3.4 per cent in August from a year earlier, missing the 3.82 per cent forecast in a poll by financial data provider Wind and down from July’s 3.7 per cent growth, data from the statistics bureau showed on Monday.
Property investment has continued to decline, falling 12.9 per cent in the period from January to August, compared with a 12 per cent slump recorded in the first seven months of the year.
In the secondary market, where prices have been falling for more than two years, August sales slipped 0.6 per cent from July. On an annual basis, prices fell 5.5 per cent last month, compared with a 5.9 per cent drop in July.
The secondary market has posed a bigger challenge to price stabilisation, Yan said, where ample inventory has continued to put the bite on asking prices.


Morgan Stanley sees mainland China property market slump extending into 2026

How China could solve its consumption conundrum

Why China Vanke’s debt woes have barely made a ripple in markets

What’s next for China’s economy in 2026 – and how it plans to tackle challenges

China property

China’s property market shows signs of stabilisation despite monthly fall

FILE PHOTO: Men work at the construction site of an apartment building in Beijing, China, July 29, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

Evergrande eyes sale of stake in US$1.3 billion property services unit

Evergrande Group logos are seen on apartment buildings in Nanjing, China’s eastern Jiangsu province on August 25, 2025. Embattled property giant China Evergrande Group said on August 12 it will delist from Hong Kong Stock Exchange as a heavier-than-expected debt burden weighed on its liquidation process. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT

China’s home prices continue slide as support measures fail to budge sentiment

Residential buildings stand in the Haizhu distract of  Guangzhou, in China’s southern Guangdong province, on October 11, 2024. Photo: Getty Images

A view of Futian, Shenzhen, on April 24, 2025. Photo: Edmond So

China’s economy under strain in August as retail sales, industrial output miss forecasts

A person walks at a market in Beijing on September 10. Photo: EPA

People ride an escalator at a shopping mall in Beijing, on July 31. Photo: Reuters

Business

Economy

Economic Indicators

China Business

August figures continued their month-on-month decline, though the sluggish sector’s year-on-year numbers narrowed marginally


August figures continued their month-on-month decline, though the sluggish sector’s year-on-year numbers narrowed marginally.
