China's household balance sheet
Estimates put property at 52%–55% of household assets; deposits are up 72.8% since mid-2021

1. Current size and mix: China Securities estimates total household assets of CNY763.7trn at end-2024 with property at 51.8%; Huafu Securities estimates CNY738.9trn at end-2025 with property at about 54.5% (derived); the Goldman Sachs figures reported by the media are about CNY730trn and 52% in Q1 2026. Definitions differ, but the results are close.
2. The size of the change depends on definitions: estimates of property's 2021 share are 49.4% (CASS), 51.7% (Huachuang, urban housing only) and 67% (Goldman Sachs as reported). The direction is consistent: Huachuang estimates that urban housing values fell 28% in 2021–2025 while deposits and cash rose 62%, leaving net worth broadly unchanged (-2%).
3. Limited deposit migration: household deposits rose CNY6.99trn in the first eight months of 2026, CNY2.78trn less than a year earlier, while non-bank financial institution deposits rose CNY6.32trn, more than a year earlier. CICC estimates that money leaving deposits in Q1 went mainly to life insurance (CNY1.5trn), with about CNY0.45trn going directly into brokerage margin accounts. Several institutions conclude that deposit migration is real but limited.
4. Deleveraging continues: household debt fell from 61.0% of GDP in 2024-Q1 to 57.5% (BIS), and mortgage balances are -6.8% from their peak. On the household-survey basis, debt is about 136.6% of disposable income.

China has no official quarterly household balance sheet. The annual CASS national balance sheet ends in 2022, and the World Bank's December 2025 China Economic Update reproduces its household breakdown; later figures are broker estimates. The Goldman Sachs report is not public, so its figures below are as reported by the media.

The three estimates from 2024 onward are close: total assets of CNY730–764trn and a property share of 51.8%–54.5%. The difference lies in the 2021 baseline: the national-accounts estimate from CASS is 49.4%, while the Goldman Sachs figure as reported is 67%, closer to the 59.1% in the PBOC's 2019 urban household survey. Surveys cover urban households and value homes at owners' own estimates, so they usually show a higher property share than national accounts. The reported fall from 67% to 52% should therefore not be compared directly with other sources.

Huachuang Securities is the only public estimate with an annual breakdown for 2021–2025. It counts urban housing only, so its total is lower than other estimates, but it shows how each asset changed.

Urban housing lost about CNY75trn in value while deposits and cash grew by about CNY68trn, similar amounts. Insurance rose 64%, listed equities 25%, and unlisted equity fell 26%. On these components, property's share fell from 51.7% to 36.9%, deposits and cash rose from 21.5% to 34.6%, and listed equities from 3.6% to 4.5%. The lower property share reflects falling house prices and accumulated deposits; direct equity holdings changed little.

International comparison: real estate is 24.8% of US household (and nonprofit) assets and directly held equities 23.9% (Fed Z.1, 2026-Q2); non-financial assets are 36.3% of Japanese household assets (Cabinet Office, 2024). Cash and deposits make up 47.2% of household financial assets in Japan, 31.1% in the euro area and 10.7% in the US (BOJ, 2026-03), against about 62.0% in China (Industrial Bank Research, 2023).

Household debt fell from 61.0% of GDP in 2024-Q1 to 57.5% (NIFD measure: 57.7% in Q2 2026). The ratio of debt to disposable income depends on the income measure. On the household-survey basis, income is about 43.5% of GDP and debt about 136.6% of income; on the flow-of-funds basis the 2023 figures are 60.8% and 101.8%. Both measures indicate a substantial debt-service burden.

Deposit rates are low: Bank of China's 1-, 3- and 5-year rates are 0.95%, 1.25% and 1.30% (unchanged since 2025-05-20). In the first eight months of 2026 household deposits grew less than a year earlier and non-bank deposits grew more, indicating that some money left deposits through insurers, funds and brokers. On scale, CITIC Securities estimates that about CNY45trn of 2-year-plus deposits mature in 2026, of which about CNY5trn could reach markets and about CNY2trn flow into equities; Guosen Securities estimates that about CNY64trn of high-rate deposits mature, of which 10%–20% (CNY6–13trn) may leave the banking system. Media reports put large banks' retention of maturing deposits above 90%. Mutual fund assets are up 5.1% this year, bank wealth products rose 1.11% in the first half, and premiums grew 3.2% year on year.

Chinese summaries of the Goldman Sachs report circulated widely on social media. The table checks the figures that can be verified. CNY730trn is gross assets before debt; across the 494 million households of the 2020 census that is about CNY1.48m each, a mean well above the median.