New home prices across 70 major Chinese cities fell 3.5% year-on-year in May 2026, matching the pace of decline in April. This was the 35th consecutive monthly drop and remained the sharpest fall since May 2025, underscoring the continued weakness in the property sector. The figures indicate that existing policy support has so far failed to revive housing demand or restore market confidence, amid subdued buyer sentiment and a persistent housing glut.
Among the largest cities, prices continued to decline in Beijing (-2.1% vs. -2.3% in April), Guangzhou (-3.3% vs. -4.4%), Shenzhen (-4.5% vs. -5.3%), Chongqing (-4.7% vs. -4.8%), and Tianjin (-4.7% vs. -5.1%). By contrast, price growth in Shanghai slowed, with a 3.2% increase compared with 3.7% in April. On a month-on-month basis, new home prices slipped 0.2% in May, following a 0.1% decrease in April.
