China’s real estate market continues to struggle as the latest data indicates a persistent downturn. In April 2025, second-hand housing prices in one hundred cities showed an expanded decline compared to the previous month, marking a continuous decrease for 36 months.
According to data released by China Index Research Institute on May 1st, 2025, in April, the average price of second-hand residential properties in 100 cities across the country was 13,892 yuan per square meter, a 0.69% decrease from the previous month, widening by 0.10 percentage points compared to March, and experiencing a 36-month consecutive decline. Year-on-year, there was a significant drop of 7.23%.
In tier-one cities, second-hand housing prices saw a month-on-month decrease of 0.36%, tier-two cities witnessed a 0.77% decline, and tier-three to tier-four cities experienced a 0.73% decrease in prices compared to the previous month.
Regarding the magnitude of the price fluctuations, in April, second-hand housing prices in all 100 cities showed a month-on-month decline. Among them, cities like Huai’an and Yancheng saw declines of over 1%, with Huai’an experiencing the largest drop at 1.90%. Cities like Fuzhou and Changzhou had declines ranging between 0.5% to 1%, while Chongqing (main urban area) and Guangzhou saw declines between 0.3% to 0.5%. Cities like Xining and Taizhou had month-on-month declines of less than 0.3%.
The China Index Research Institute stated that the secondary housing market in core cities maintains a certain level of activity, but with high listing volumes, the dominant trend in the market remains “price for volume”.
On the other hand, in the new housing market, the average price of new residential properties in 100 cities across China was 16,764 yuan per square meter in April, showing a 0.14% month-on-month increase and a 2.50% year-on-year increase.
Tier-one cities saw a month-on-month increase of 0.37% in prices, tier-two cities had an increase of 0.10%, while tier-three to tier-four cities experienced a 0.11% month-on-month decrease in new housing prices.
According to a report by Reuters, analysts estimate that average housing prices in China have declined by 20% to 30% since reaching their peak in August 2021.