In 2021, the Chinese real estate industry reached its peak in the third quarter but has since seen a sharp decline. During the first three quarters of this year, financing for real estate enterprises decreased by 30% compared to the same period last year, with a further 35% drop in the third quarter, showcasing a significant widening of the decline. Meanwhile, real estate enterprises faced a peak period of debt repayment in the third quarter.
According to a report released by CRIC Research Center on October 5, 2025, in the first three quarters of the year, the financing scale of real estate enterprises reached 307.2 billion yuan, continuing to show a contraction trend with a 30% year-on-year decrease. Specifically, financing in the third quarter amounted to 114.5 billion yuan, a 35% decrease year-on-year, hitting a historical low. Many private real estate enterprises, especially those in distress, still face significant challenges in financing.
In terms of enterprise classification, in the first three quarters of 2025, the bond issuance of state-owned enterprises and central enterprises was 131.3 billion yuan, an 8% decrease compared to the same period last year; the bond issuance of private enterprises was 13.4 billion yuan, down 13% year-on-year; and the bond issuance of mixed-ownership enterprises was 10.6 billion yuan, a 22% increase year-on-year. State-owned enterprises and central enterprises accounted for 85% of the total bond issuance. Additionally, the financing costs for state-owned enterprises and central enterprises in the first three quarters were 2.58%, while private enterprises were at 5.40%, widening the gap between the two to 2.82 percentage points.
Looking at debt maturity, the pressure of debt repayment is expected to reach a peak in 2025. In 2024, the scale of real estate enterprise bonds maturing reached 482.9 billion yuan, while the issuance scale that year was only 220.9 billion yuan, making it impossible for real estate enterprises to cover the matured debt through new borrowing.
However, the situation in 2025 is even worse. With the stagnation in the real estate market in recent years, many real estate enterprises have resorted to extending or refinancing their debts, leading to a rise in the maturity of debts in 2025.
According to statistics from CRIC, the total debt maturity of real estate enterprises in 2025 is as high as 525.7 billion yuan, an 8.9% increase compared to the previous year; in which the debt repayment scale in the third quarter alone reached nearly 160 billion yuan, accounting for close to 30%, marking a peak in recent years during the same period.