China’s housing construction falls to lowest level in two decades

China’s housing construction activity has slumped to its lowest level in more than 20 years, underscoring the deepening downturn in the country’s property sector and its broader economic implications. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that new residential housing starts in the first 11 months of 2025 fell 19.9% year-on-year to 392 million square meters, the lowest annual level since at least 2000. At the same time, new home sales declined 8.1% to 658 million square meters, highlighting weak demand. The ratio of housing starts to sales also deteriorated markedly ...