‘Bleak start’ to 2026 for China’s property sector as sales declines accelerate

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Cao LiFebruary 2, 2026 at 07:30 AM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

China's property sector experienced a "bleak start" to 2026, continuing its multi-year downturn. New-home sales declined sharply, with the top 100 developers reporting a 27% year-on-year decrease in contracted sales for January, totaling 165.5 billion yuan. Offshore borrowers faced particular stress, as 18 major developers with outstanding US-dollar bonds saw sales fall 53.67% from December. Barclays reported that the month-on-month sales decline for these developers was steeper than the historical average, even after adjusting for seasonal factors. Subdued confidence, slow sales of new projects, and development delays contributed to the downturn, as policy support failed to meet market expectations.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

China Real Estate Information Corporation (CRIC) 70% Barclays ×270% China 90%

Keywords

property sector 90% sales declines 80% developers 70% new-home sales 70% offshore borrowers 60% contracted sales 60% debt-repayment capacity 50% market expectations 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.70

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

China

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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property sector sales declines developers new-home sales offshore borrowers contracted sales debt-repayment capacity market expectations

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