Investment in Chinese real estate contracted 9.1% in the first nine months of 2023 from a year earlier, official data showed Wednesday, a bigger drop than in the first eight months of the year.
The decline means developers are spending less buying land and building housing. Construction starts measured by floor area fell 23.4% year-on-year, and total ongoing construction area dropped 7.1%, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).