China's Property Market Sees Sales Stabilise as Existing Home Transactions Rise

China's real estate market showed signs of transaction stabilisation through August 2026, driven by an expansion in second-hand property deals that offset continued drops in new home sales, according to National Bureau of Statistics spokesperson Fu Linghui. Across the first eight months, existing home transaction area reached 550 million square metres, growing 10.6 percent year-on-year, while new commercial housing sales area declined 12.1 percent. Price declines across 70 major cities narrowed, and overall commercial housing inventories fell for a sixth consecutive month, supported by targeted municipal measures and inventory digestion policies.

The performance of the real estate sector remains central to China's broader economic restructuring. The steadying of overall transaction volumes via existing home resales, combined with declining short-term inventory and narrowing price drops, suggests targeted property-easing measures are providing a partial floor. However, structural rebalancing continues to test fixed-asset investment and broader economic momentum.

China's property market exhibited signs of transactional stabilisation through August, buoyed by expanding second-hand residential sales and a sustained contraction in unsold inventories, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. Speaking at a State Council Information Office briefing, National Bureau of Statistics spokesperson Fu Linghui outlined an ongoing shift in the composition of national property transactions. From January to August, the registered floor area of existing home transactions reached 550 million square metres, marking a 10.6 percent increase year-on-year and exceeding new commercial housing sales for multiple consecutive months. Conversely, new commercial home sales area fell 12.1 percent over the same period. Fu noted that while new residential turnover contracted, rising activity in secondary properties supported overall market transaction stability. Price dynamics also displayed marginal improvement. In August, 38 out of 70 major cities reported that year-on-year declines in new residential sales prices had narrowed compared to July. The pace of price decline in tier-one, tier-two, and tier-three cities moderated by 0.2, 0.1, and 0.1 percentage points respectively. In the secondary market, 48 of 70 cities registered smaller year-on-year price declines, with tier-one cities recording a 1.0 percentage point narrowing. National inventories of unsold commercial property also continued to shrink. By the end of August, total floor area of commercial housing awaiting sale fell 1.1 percent year-on-year, extending declines for a sixth consecutive month. Unsold housing completed within the past three years dropped by 4.2 percent, indicating faster digestion of short-term inventories. Fu attributed the clearance to city-specific initiatives, home-purchase subsidies, trade-in programs, and local policy efforts converting unsold housing into subsidised public housing. Broader economic indicators for August highlighted resilience in industrial output, which rose 5.2 percent year-on-year, underpinned by high-tech manufacturing growth of 16.7 percent. Retail sales of consumer goods rose 0.4 percent year-on-year, while the urban surveyed unemployment rate stood at 5.3 percent. Fu stressed that addressing changing housing demand—including greener, smarter, and elder-friendly dwellings—remains essential as authorities push forward housing provident fund reforms and build a new real estate operating model.