China’s Jan-Feb property investment falls 9.0% y/y

BEIJING (Reuters) – Property investment in China slid 9.0% year-on-year in the first two months of 2024, compared with a 24.0% fall in December 2023, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Monday.

Property sales by floor area logged a 20.5% slide in January-February from a year earlier, compared with a 23.0% fall in December last year.

China has been ramping up measures to reinvigorate its fragile property sector after a regulatory crackdown on developer leverage led to a snowballing liquidity crisis.

Authorities launched a so-called “whitelist” mechanism in January, channelling funds from state banks into local property projects identified by city governments as justifiable for financing support.

New construction starts measured by floor area plunged 29.7% year-on-year, after a 11.56% plunge in December 2023.

Funds raised by China’s property developers were down 24.1% on year after a 17.77% drop in December last year.

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Sam Holmes)