On August 17, the National Bureau of Statistics released data on the changes in commercial housing sales prices in 70 large and medium-sized cities for July 2026, along with statistics on the national real estate market situation from January to July 2026. In July 2026, among the 70 major cities, first-tier cities saw a general month-on-month increase in commercial housing prices, while second- and third-tier cities experienced declines. The year-on-year declines in prices across all tiers continued to narrow overall.

First-tier cities saw a general month-on-month increase in commercial housing prices, while second- and third-tier cities experienced declines. In July, the month-on-month change in new commercial housing prices in first-tier cities turned flat from a 0.1% increase in the previous month. Specifically, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen saw increases of 0.2%, 0.1%, and 0.2%, respectively, while Beijing recorded a decline of 0.3%. In second-tier cities, new commercial housing prices fell 0.1% month-on-month, shifting from a flat reading in the previous month. Third-tier cities saw a 0.3% month-on-month decline, the same rate as the previous month. Among the 70 cities, 23 saw month-on-month increases or flat prices for new commercial housing, up by 2 from the previous month. In July, resale housing prices in first-tier cities rose 0.2% month-on-month, with the growth rate narrowing by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen saw increases of 0.3%, 0.4%, and 0.2%, respectively, while Beijing remained flat. Resale housing prices in second- and third-tier cities declined 0.3% and 0.4% month-on-month, respectively, with the same decline rates as the previous month. Among the 70 cities, 8 saw month-on-month increases or flat prices for resale housing, down by 2 from the previous month.

Year-on-year declines in commercial housing prices across all tiers generally continued to narrow. In July, new commercial housing prices in first-tier cities fell 1.1% year-on-year, with the decline narrowing by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen recorded declines of 2.3%, 2.2%, and 2.9%, respectively, while Shanghai saw a 3.0% increase. In second-tier cities, new commercial housing prices fell 2.8% year-on-year, with the decline narrowing by 0.3 percentage points. Third-tier cities saw a 4.2% year-on-year decline, the same rate as the previous month. In July, resale housing prices in first-tier cities fell 3.7% year-on-year, with the decline narrowing by 1.2 percentage points from the previous month. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen recorded declines of 4.5%, 2.0%, 4.7%, and 3.6%, respectively. Resale housing prices in second- and third-tier cities fell 5.1% and 5.8% year-on-year, with declines narrowing by 0.3 and 0.2 percentage points, respectively.

National real estate market fundamentals from January to July 2026

Real estate development investment overview From January to July, national real estate development investment totaled 430.09 billion yuan, down 19.2% year-on-year (on a comparable basis). Residential investment accounted for 331.72 billion yuan, down 19.1%. The construction area of properties under development by real estate enterprises was 557.572 million square meters, down 12.7% year-on-year, with residential construction area at 387.051 million square meters, down 13.0%. New construction starts covered 267 million square meters, down 24.0%, with residential new starts at 194.9 million square meters, down 24.6%. Completed construction area was 191.95 million square meters, down 23.2%, with residential completions at 134.43 million square meters, down 25.5%.

New commercial housing sales and inventory status From January to July, the sales area of new commercial housing was 450.21 million square meters, down 11.8% year-on-year, with residential sales area down 12.7%. Sales value of new commercial housing was 427.18 billion yuan, down 13.1%, with residential sales value down 13.2%. At the end of July, the inventory area of commercial housing was 759.11 million square meters, down 0.8% year-on-year. Of this, area with inventory under 3 years was 555.59 million square meters, down 3.6%.

Funding sources for real estate development enterprises From January to July, funds received by real estate development enterprises totaled 457.48 billion yuan, down 20.3% year-on-year. Among these, domestic loans were 63 billion yuan, down 32.1%; self-raised funds were 165.44 billion yuan, down 18.5%; deposits and advance receipts were 143.76 billion yuan, down 14.4%; and individual mortgage loans were 60.4 billion yuan, down 23.5%.