Housing markets in Shenzhen and Guangzhou gained traction during the National Day holiday period, with rising property viewings and transactions, but some buyers remain cautious over market outlook.

According to statistics from Beike Research Institute, transaction volumes for second-hand homes at realty agency Beike’s partner stores in Shenzhen rose 23 percent year-on-year from Oct 1 to 5.

Data from Leyoujia Research Center shows that new home viewings at Leyoujia outlets in Shenzhen during the first five days of the weeklong holiday grew 37 percent on a monthly basis and transaction volumes increased 28 percent. Pre-owned home market also recorded growth, with viewings on the realty agency platform up 30 percent month-on-month and transaction volumes on par with the level a month earlier.

“We can really feel a pickup in people’s enthusiasm for property viewings during the National Day holiday. Many young people came with their parents. On my busiest day, I took four groups of clients to look at properties,” a property agent surnamed Huang who works for Centaline Property in Shenzhen told China Daily.

“Young buyers favor newer buildings with a good community environment and transport links. Some properties they once thought were out of their budget are now within reach. Therefore, they are comparing more projects before making up their minds.”

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Meanwhile, more non-local buyers have come to Shenzhen to purchase homes, driven by preferential housing policies.

An agent who works for Beike said non-local buyers have a shorter decision-making cycle and can quickly complete signings. He added that property viewings in the first five days of the National Day holiday rose 10 percent from the previous month.

Shenzhen eased its housing policies earlier this year in a move to boost the property market. Non-local buyers can buy two residential properties in the city’s non-core areas without providing social security or individual income tax records. Non-core areas refer to all regions of Shenzhen except Futian district, Nanshan district and Xin’an subdistrict of Bao’an district.

The central government has also implemented interest subsidies for housing loans since this month, granting eligible first-time homebuyers an annualized 1-percentage-point subsidy in loans for up to 1 million yuan ($149,000).

To qualify for the subsidy, each unit must have a floor area of no more than 120 square meters, with the purchase price capped at 1.5 million yuan.

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In Guangzhou, property developers are ramping up promotions to capitalize on the holiday consumption momentum. A new project in the city’s Haizhu district posted 80 million yuan in sales on Oct 1, while another new project in Tianhe district recorded sales of over 50 million yuan on the same day.

The second-hand home market also picked up steam. Property viewings at a brokerage outlet in Yuexiu district doubled during the holiday, from an average of three to four groups per day on normal days to seven to eight groups over the National Day break.

Despite the growing interest, some people remain cautious about jumping into the market.

“The central government has introduced various supportive housing policies recently. We want to see how these policies will affect the real estate market,” a women surnamed Chen said.

“With plenty of new and pre-owned homes to choose from, we are not rushing to buy.”

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, new home sales prices in Shenzhen and Guangzhou increased 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, on a monthly basis in August. For pre-owned homes, prices in Shenzhen rose 0.1 percent while those in Guangzhou remained flat.

Contact the writer at sally@chinadailyhk.com