‘Bleak start’ to 2026 for China’s property sector as sales declines accelerate
China’s top developers slumped in January, with weak demand and fading policy support raising fresh concerns over debt repayment capacity
The country’s top 100 developers reported combined contracted sales of 165.5 billion yuan (US$24 billion) in January, down 27 per cent from a year earlier, according to data released over the weekend by China Real Estate Information Corporation (CRIC).
Stress was particularly acute among offshore borrowers.
The combined contracted sales of 18 major developers with outstanding US-dollar bonds fell 53.67 per cent in January from December, and 18.51 per cent year on year, a Barclays report published on Monday showed, pointing to weakening debt-repayment capacity.
Even after adjusting for seasonal effects, the month-on-month drop in January sales for these major developers was steeper than the post-Covid historical average decline of 44 per cent, the British bank said.
Confidence remained subdued, new projects were selling more slowly, and some key developments had been delayed as policy support fell short of market expectations, Barclays added.