The 6.38% negative growth came despite business improving steadily through the year.
It accounted for VND57.6 trillion (US$2.36 billion) of the city economy, or 3.6%.
Of the 52,100 new businesses established in the year with total registered capital of VND470.3 trillion, 1,541 were property brokerages that invested VND61.1 trillion, according to the HCMC Statistics Office.
This marked declines of 38.7% and 44.9%.
In 2023 the city received $5.8 billion worth of FDI, of which $2.7 billion went into real estate, mostly through mergers and acquisitions.
The real estate industry's decline also impacted the construction industry though it managed to achieve growth of 4.42%.