By WANG Tingting

The performance of China’s real-estate market continued to slide last year, despite a slight recovery in December. Total sales of the top 100 real-estate businesses in 2023 amounted to 6.3 trillion yuan (US$880 million), down 17.3 percent.

Nearly 70 of the companies saw sales down, with 31 down by more than 30 percent, including 27 private enterprises. Some local state-owned enterprises such as Lianfa Group, ITG, and XMXYG Real Estate grew by over 20 percent.

According to the CRIC Research Center, although major real-estate companies increased their efforts at the end of the year, the recovery was insufficient, and sales have not shown significant improvement.

Only 16 real-estate companies are now valued at over one trillion yuan, down by four.

The Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region together accounted for over 60 percent collectively of sales.

Shanghai, Hangzhou, Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu, Suzhou, Wuhan, Xiamen, and Shenzhen were the top ten cities for sales, with Chengdu showing the fastest growth.

CRIC expects sales to stabilize in 2024, with the improvement in the macro economy and policy environment, and the pace of risk clearing for heavily indebted real-estate enterprises will accelerate.

In 2024, new home sales market will still face pressure. If the economy continues to recover coupled with the progress of urban renovations, sales may see a slight increase.