2026-01-19 02:29:00
Summary:
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New home prices fall 0.4% m/m, 2.7% y/y in December
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Annual decline fastest in five months
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Majority of cities continue to record price falls
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Secondary market weakness persists across all tiers
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Property investment and sales remain deeply negative
China’s December housing data point to a stubborn property slump that continues to weigh on confidence despite policy support.
China’s new home prices fell again in December, reinforcing signs that the country’s prolonged property downturn remains firmly entrenched despite repeated policy efforts to stabilise the sector, according to official data.
Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed new home prices declined 0.4% month-on-month, matching November’s pace of contraction. On a year-on-year basis, prices were down 2.7%, accelerating from a 2.4% annual fall in November and marking the steepest decline in five months.
The data underline the uneven and fragile nature of the recovery in China’s housing market, which remains a key drag on household confidence and broader economic momentum. Of the 70 cities tracked by the NBS, just six recorded price increases in December, while 58 cities posted declines, highlighting the breadth of the weakness.
Conditions in the secondary, or resale, market also deteriorated further. Existing home prices fell faster from a year earlier across tier-one, tier-two and tier-three cities, signalling that price pressures are not confined to lower-tier regions and remain widespread across urban China.
Economists say a sustained recovery in housing would be critical for lifting consumer sentiment, given the sector’s central role in household wealth. A stabilisation in prices could also help ease structural imbalances between supply and demand that continue to weigh on growth.
Separate official data show the scale of the downturn. Property investment fell 17.2% in 2025, while home sales by floor area dropped 8.7%, reflecting weak buyer confidence and cautious developer activity.
In a New Year article, Qiushi, the Communist Party’s flagship journal, described the sector as undergoing a “profound adjustment” but insisted property remains a pillar of the economy with scope for transformation. The piece called for “strong policy actions” to stabilise expectations.
China’s property crisis began in mid-2021 following a crackdown on excessive leverage, pushing major developers such as Country Garden and Evergrande into financial distress. Regulators said last week they would promote the normal operation of programmes designed to accelerate financing for stalled residential projects, though markets remain sceptical that current measures are sufficient to reverse the slide.
