China’s property foreclosures surge as growth slows

The number of foreclosed properties for sale in China rose at a faster pace in January, in a sign of the country’s continued economic slowdown. 

New listings of foreclosed properties nationwide rose 48 per cent in January from a year earlier, compared with 37 per cent in 2023, according to a report by real estate agency China Index Holdings published on Thursday (Feb 22). The 100,400 properties listed for sale last month include residential, commercial and industrial real estate.

China’s economic downturn has resulted in a growing number of debt-saddled property owners who are forced to sell, especially as real estate loans account for a large majority of the country’s non-performing debt. 

For the past two years, distressed pricing has allowed homebuyers and companies to snag cheap residences, warehouses and land. Foreclosed residential properties were sold at an average discount of 23 per cent in January, China Index Holdings data showed. 

“We forecast the enthusiasm for distressed properties to heat up after Lunar New Year as the overall real estate market is forecast to be on a downward trend and discounts are expected to widen.” the agency said in the report. BLOOMBERG