Sales Pressure Persists
China's property sector remained in correction through the first seven months of 2026, official data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on August 17. New commercial housing sales area fell 11.8% year-on-year in January–July 2026, with the decline widening by 0.2 percentage points compared with the January–June reading. Sales value dropped 13.1% to 42.718 trillion yuan, though that figure showed a 0.5 percentage-point improvement from the prior-month reading — a tentative sign that price momentum is stabilising at lower levels.
Investment Keeps Falling
Real estate development investment declined 19.2% year-on-year to 4.3009 trillion yuan in January–July 2026, with residential investment down 19.1% to 3.3172 trillion yuan. New construction starts fell 24.0% in area terms and residential starts dropped 24.3%, underscoring the ongoing contraction in developer pipeline activity.
Bright Spots: Secondary Market and Inventory
| Indicator | Jan–Jul 2026 | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| New home sales area | — | -11.8% |
| New home sales value | 42,718 billion yuan | -13.1% |
| Dev. investment | 4,300.9 billion yuan | -19.2% |
| New starts (area) | — | -24.0% |
| Secondary transactions | 482 million sqm | +10.2% |
| Unsold inventory | 5th consecutive monthly decline | YoY falling |
Secondary (existing-home) transactions reached 482 million square metres in January–July 2026, a gain of 10.2% year-on-year, continuing the trend of buyers shifting toward completed二手房. Unsold inventory — the overhang of completed but unsold units — fell for the fifth consecutive month on a year-on-year basis, pointing to gradual balance-sheet cleaning in the sector.
Policy Context
The white-list financing mechanism and extended loan rollovers of up to five years are directing credit toward completed, deliverable projects. Combined with land-supply restrictions — new commercial land essentially frozen — the framework aims to shift the sector from greenfield expansion to inventory optimisation. Analysts say sustained recovery depends on whether demand-side confidence returns, particularly in lower-tier cities where developer funding stress and local-government land-revenue dependence remain acute.