The severity of China’s property crisis escalated last month, marked by a significant drop in housing sales and a reduction in new construction projects.
Recent statistics from February starkly illustrate the troubles plaguing China’s housing market, showing a year-on-year decrease of over 20% in property sales.
This slump has resulted in a 9% fall in total real estate sector investment, exacerbating the industry’s struggles to rebound from the impacts of Covid.
Additionally, the construction of new floor space in China has seen a substantial year-on-year decrease of 29.7%.
Economist Lynn Song from ING highlights the ongoing lack of confidence in the sector, predicting a continued contraction of the property market into 2024.
“The sentiment index, which has fallen from 93.34 at the end of 2023 to a record low of 92.13 in February, indicates that confidence has yet to hit rock bottom,” Song remarked.
He further noted that, given the persistent negative sentiment, the property sector is likely to continue hindering economic growth this year.
In related news, Hui Ka Yan, the founder and ex-chairman of the real estate behemoth Evergrande, has been permanently barred from participating in China’s stock markets.
