China's property investment falls 18% in H1 2026

(ECNS) -- China’s real estate development investment fell 18% year on year to 3.81 trillion yuan ($561 billion) in the first half of 2026 the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. Property sales and developer funding also declined.

Investment in residential projects dropped 17.8% to 2.93 trillion yuan ($431.5 billion). The floor space of newly started projects fell 23.4%, while completed floor space decreased 23.7%.

The floor space of newly built properties sold declined 11.6% to 401.4 million square meters. Sales by value fell 13.6% to 3.79 trillion yuan ($558.1 billion), with residential property sales down 13.7%.

Funds available to real estate developers decreased 20.2% to 4.02 trillion yuan ($592 billion). Domestic loans fell 31.7%, while individual mortgage loans dropped 24.9%.

(By Helen Mo, intern Yang Hongran)