The corona lockdown in metropolises like Shanghai caused Chinese real estate sales to fall in April more than they had in 16 years.
In terms of value, they fell by 46.6 percent compared to the same month last year.
This is according to data released by the Statistics Office on Monday.
From January to April, the minus totaled 29.5 percent.
However, the construction industry is not only under pressure because of the pandemic.
The government has intensified its campaign against speculators - also out of concern about a real estate bubble.
In addition, the crisis surrounding the ailing real estate giant Evergrande has scared off many potential home buyers who feared that their projects would not be completed.
To counteract this, more than 80 cities have taken measures to boost demand since the beginning of the year.
These include subsidies, lower mortgage rates and lower down payments.
However, the prospects for the real estate market remain bleak due to weeks of lockdowns in dozens of cities such as the economic metropolis of Shanghai, which has a population of 26 million.
"With no reopening on the horizon, a modest cut in the mortgage rate floor offers little support to potential first-time homebuyers," said Nomura China chief economist Ting Lu.
Increased insecurity, rising unemployment and slower income growth contributed to the slump in home sales.