In 2026, green, intelligent, and age-friendly technologies will become new growth engines for the home furnishing and building materials industry. On January 15th, the latest National Building Materials and Home Furnishings Prosperity Index (BHI), initiated by the Department of Circulation Industry Development of the Ministry of Commerce and released by the China Building Materials Circulation Association, showed that in December 2025, the BHI was 107.49, a decrease of 6.69 points month-on-month and 1.33 points year-on-year. The sales volume of large-scale building materials and home furnishings markets nationwide in December was 117.96 billion yuan, a decrease of 9.00% month-on-month and 4.40% year-on-year; the cumulative sales volume for the whole of 2025 was 1,441.145 billion yuan, a decrease of 3.33% year-on-year.
In December 2025, temperatures dropped across the country, and the building materials and home furnishing market continued the traditional winter off-season trend, with the BHI (Building Materials Index) declining accordingly. The Industry Research Department of the China Building Materials Circulation Association explained that in 2025, affected by multiple factors such as deepening changes in the external environment, the prominent contradiction between strong domestic supply and weak demand, and the deep adjustment of the national real estate market, the national building materials and home furnishing industry demonstrated resilience and courage amidst various challenges.
In December 2025, the national building materials and home furnishing market continued the traditional off-season characteristics, with the BHI continuing to decline. Sales of large-scale building materials and home furnishing stores declined month-on-month, primarily due to the seasonal pattern of limited construction conditions and weakened consumer willingness to renovate during winter.
In 2025, the external environment will be complex and volatile, with a prominent contradiction between supply and demand in the domestic economy. Coupled with the impact of a deep adjustment in the real estate market, competition in the building materials and home furnishing industry will intensify, and “involution” will become more pronounced. However, the industry as a whole will still demonstrate resilience and move forward. Looking at the performance of various sub-indices, a pattern of “one rise and many falls” emerges: the only index to rise month-on-month was the “Popularity Index,” which reached 138.26, an increase of 6.80 points month-on-month and 3.07 points year-on-year. This was mainly driven by Christmas and New Year’s Day promotional activities, resulting in a relatively high level of customer traffic. Meanwhile, the “Manager Confidence Index,” a leading indicator, saw the largest month-on-month decline (down 13.29 points), reflecting market participants’ cautious expectations for short-term trends. The home furnishing and building materials industry in 2025 will exhibit three main characteristics: the effective release of existing demand through trade-in policies, the optimization of the supply structure through “removing commercial and energy-intensive industries,” and the deep empowerment of AI technology to enhance enterprise competitiveness.
Given that the Spring Festival in 2026 falls in mid-February, building materials and home furnishing stores will enter their holiday closure mode earlier. Coupled with consumers’ increased tendency to plan trips and prepare for the New Year before the festival, this will affect consumers’ actual purchasing intentions in the short term. It is expected that the BHI will remain low at the beginning of 2026.
In recent years, the annual trend of the BHI has gradually flattened.
The 2025 Building Materials and Home Furnishings Index (BHI) showed a clear trajectory throughout the year: February saw the lowest point in the first half of the year due to the Spring Festival holiday; March, with rising temperatures and the start of the peak season for home decoration consumption, the BHI gradually increased; May reached its peak for the year, marking the peak of market activity; June saw a decline due to construction restrictions caused by the hot and rainy season; subsequently, with the arrival of the traditional peak consumption season of “Golden September and Silver October,” the BHI rose to its second-half peak in October; finally, December saw a decline due to off-season factors. In early 2026, the Ministry of Commerce and eight other departments issued the “Notice on Implementing the Green Consumption Promotion Action,” making clear requirements for promoting green consumption. In the future, the renovation of existing homes and the construction of “good houses” will remain the stabilizing force of the building materials and home furnishings market, while green, smart, and age-friendly sectors will become new growth engines for the industry.
