In August 2026, the cumulative year-on-year decline in commercial housing sales area widened to -12.1%, down 0.3 percentage points from -11.8% in the previous period. Over the past six months, the cumulative year-on-year decline has progressively expanded from -10.4% to -12.1%, reflecting a persistent month-on-month deterioration. The cumulative year-on-year decline in commercial housing sales value was -13.0%, narrowing slightly by 0.1 percentage points from -13.1% previously. In terms of the volume-price relationship, the sales area decline of -12.1% was less severe than the sales value decline of -13.0%, indicating that the market remains driven by price cuts to sustain volume, with price pressures potentially more pronounced. The narrowing in value decline alongside the widening in area decline suggests that structural factors, such as a higher share of transactions in certain cities or premium projects, provided some support to sales value, even as overall volume continued to weaken.
On the residential side, the cumulative year-on-year decline in residential sales area was -13.0% in August, deteriorating by 0.3 percentage points from -12.7% in the prior period. The cumulative year-on-year decline in residential sales value was -13.1%, narrowing by 0.1 percentage points from -13.2%. The residential segment mirrored the broader commercial housing trend, with area decline widening while value decline marginally improved, further confirming that a price-for-volume dynamic remains in play. As the core component of commercial housing, the widening decline in residential area reflects a slowdown in the release of both first-time and upgrading demand, with homebuying willingness still constrained by income expectations and the pace of confidence recovery.
From a marginal change perspective, the current period's commercial housing sales area cumulative year-on-year changed by -0.3 percentage points compared to the previous period, with a deviation score of negative 0.8 within the 21-month sample, placing it in a relatively weak range. This indicates that while the pace of decline on the area front has not significantly accelerated, the bottom-finding process is not yet complete. The commercial housing sales value cumulative year-on-year changed by positive 0.1 percentage points, with a deviation score of negative 0.2, and the magnitude of narrowing remains limited, making it premature to confirm a trend toward stabilization. The marginal changes in residential area and value similarly exhibit the pattern of area weakness and marginal value improvement, closely aligning with the overall commercial housing performance.
Regarding completed and pre-sold properties, data for this period is unavailable, precluding any analysis of delivery expectations or changes in risk appetite. Overall, the August 2026 real estate sales data reveal a pattern of contracting volume, falling prices, and marginal divergence in decline rates: the continued weakening on the area front reflects lackluster recovery on the demand side, while the marginal narrowing on the value side may stem from structural transactions following price adjustments. There is currently insufficient evidence to confirm whether the narrowing in declines is sustainable, and based solely on current data, the underlying causes cannot be confirmed. Going forward, attention should be paid to the effectiveness of policy support and the pace of household confidence recovery.