The Chinese property management industry is facing continued pressure with a decline in property fee collection rates, and at the same time, homeowner satisfaction with property services is also decreasing. Some property companies are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain project operations.
According to a report by the Economic Daily on March 4th, data from the Ke Rui Property Management Research Center shows that in 2025, the average collection rate of national property service enterprises (top 500) has dropped to 71%, continuing a four-year decline. The collection rate for listed property enterprises is at 78%, while small and medium-sized enterprises generally fall below 65%, with some even dropping below 50%.
Another research institution, “China Property Think Tank,” also pointed out that in 2025, the collection rate of residential property fees for the top 100 property enterprises was 82.3%, significantly lower than previous highs.
The China Property Think Tank stated in its report, “This is not simply a cyclical fluctuation but a declaration that the industry is bidding farewell to the era of extensive growth dependent on real estate, formally entering a ‘tough battle’ core to survival and value reconstruction.”
As property fee collection becomes increasingly challenging, homeowner satisfaction with property services is also on the decline.
Data from the China Property Think Tank shows that in 2025, residential property service satisfaction was only 73.2 points, while the Ke Rui Property Management Research Center data stood at 69.1 points, marking a recent low. Security, cleaning, maintenance, and other basic services have become areas of concentrated complaints, with “slow response, lack of standardized procedures, and incomplete problem resolution” being the most common grievances among homeowners.
Industry insiders point out that the decline in property fee collection rates is not solely due to one factor but is the result of a combination of government policies, market factors, and homeowner behavior. On one hand, various regions have implemented government-guided property fee pricing policies, limiting the standards for ordinary residential property fees. On the other hand, some homeowners feel that service quality has not significantly improved and thus choose to delay or refuse payment. Additionally, the unstable expectations of resident incomes make fixed expenses such as property fees more sensitive.
Against the backdrop of declining collection rates, some property companies are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain project operations.
Industry monitoring data shows that in 2025, a total of 173 property projects across the country experienced withdrawal, with 64.7% being cases where property enterprises voluntarily exited or did not renew contracts upon expiry. The primary reason for these exits was the excessively low property fee collection rate, leading to prolonged project losses and increased cash flow pressures.
For instance, on February 24th, the Hefei Branch of First Pacific Financial Property Management (Beijing) Co., Ltd., sent an “External Work Contact Letter” to the Beichen Tiandu Community in Hefei, explicitly stating that “the continuous low property fee collection rate by homeowner occupants is prominent,” and that “the project has been in long-term operation losses, objectively unable to continue maintaining the business and operation decisions made for property services.” As a result, the company will officially withdraw its property service from the community starting from May 24, 2026.
Earlier this year, the Taiyuan Branch of Sunac Services submitted an official withdrawal application to the local housing department, planning to exit the property services for the Tongjian Sunac City in Jinzhong City by April 30, 2026, citing the project’s “long-term operational losses beyond the company’s sustainable operating capacity.”
A senior executive from a leading property enterprise stated that the company is indeed facing significant challenges in property fee collection, with property attributes determining the collection situation. She pointed out that in cases of old communities, housing for relocated individuals, or communities with strong investment attributes, the property fee collection rate is very low.