BEIJING

China’s new and second-hand housing prices continued to decline in most large and medium-sized cities across the country in November, led by the contraction in the real estate market.

New house prices fell 1.2% year-on-year on average in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen; 2.2% in 31 second-tier large cities; and 3.5% in some 35 medium-sized third-tier cities, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

New house prices in Shanghai, the country’s most populous city and also its economic hub, saw a 5.1% annual rise, becoming the only exception among the first-tier cities.

Meanwhile, second-hand house prices declined 5.8% on an annual basis in first-tier cities, 5.6% in second-tier cities, and 5.8% in third-tier cities.

New house prices have been on a downward trend since April 2022 in China.

The post-pandemic real estate market downturn, as well as the debt issues that have emerged in the real estate sector, continues to put downward pressure on housing prices.

Real estate investments fell 9.6% in 2023 and 10.6% in 2024, while falling 15.9% in January–November 2025.

New home sales declined 7.8% per square meter in the first 11 months of the year.

The central government has lowered mortgage rates and minimum down payments in recent months to revitalize the housing market, and local governments have implemented policy measures to encourage home sales, such as tax cuts, deregulation, and sales subsidies, but the overall trend has yet to change in response to these developments.