In August 2025, China’s housing starts declined 20% year-on-year to an annualized rate of 551 million m2, based on current monthly volume. This represents a sharp drop from the previous month’s annualized rate of 604 million m2, and marks a 58% decrease compared to the 5-year average of 1,426 million m2 and a 64% decline from the 10-year average of 1,650 million m2, according to new data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China.
New real estate construction in August fell 5.1% from July and 20% from the same month a year ago. Completed construction floor space reached 27 million m2, increasing 7.8% month-on-month but falling 21% year-on-year. Commercial housing sales totaled 57 million m2 in August, rising 0.6% from July and 11% from a year earlier. The annualized year-to-date rate of sales stands at 860 million m2, which is 39% lower than the 5-year average of 1,401 million m2 and 43% below the 10-year average of 1,499 million m2.
China’s real estate investment in August reached 6,729 billion yuan, a 2.8% decline from July and 20% lower than in August 2024. New home prices fell 0.4% month-on-month and were 3.5% lower than a year earlier. Floor area under development increased slightly to 6,431 million m2, up 0.7% from the previous month’s 6,384 million m2.
