Sales boom of pre-owned homes key driver for rebound in metropolises

A pickup in transactions in the pre-owned housing market in China's top-tier cities signals a clear recovery, with industry experts suggesting the trend could lead to stabilization in the residential property market.

A wave of early spring transactions is being seen in China's largest cities in March, and the strong performance in these benchmark cities indicates a solid foundation for further improvement, while also setting an example for a broader nationwide recovery, experts said.

In Shanghai, as many as 13,955 pre-owned homes changed hands in the first half of March, with transactions reaching 7,233 units last week, the highest weekly level since 2021, according to the official website of the Shanghai Real Estate Trading Center.

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"It appears that Shanghai's property market has ended the previous sluggish status and is on a faster recovery track," said Lu Wenxi, an analyst at Centaline Shanghai.

"Boosted by existing supportive measures, both the new-home and secondary housing markets are poised to pick up amid improving demand, likely leading to a peak in transactions during the spring season," Lu said.

In Beijing, more than 23,000 units of existing homes were traded during the first two months of the year, BTV reported, citing industry data.

"This figure is more than 2,000 units higher than the average for the same period over the past decade, indicating improving market activity," the report added.

In the first two weeks of March, the number of online-signed transactions for second-hand residential properties in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, rose by 23.8 percent and 24.5 percent week-on-week, respectively, according to data from the city's housing and construction bureau.

"Home transaction data from the nation's largest cities are widely regarded as a barometer of market performance. From a national perspective, the statistics suggest that the current real estate market has the conditions for an improved performance," said Yan Yuejin, deputy head of the Shanghai-based E-House China R&D Institute.

"The figures not only provide confidence for the overall housing market in these cities, but also set an example for driving a similar rebound across the national real estate market," Yan said.

Wang Zhonghua, a statistician with the National Bureau of Statistics' urban department, said, "The property data of February indicate that the month-on-month decrease in commercial housing sales prices in 70 large and medium-sized cities continued to narrow."

Meanwhile, more cities reported month-on-month growth in new home prices during the same period, also signaling an improvement in the market, Wang said.

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"The home price data in February have sent a clear and positive signal that the market is poised for a structural recovery, with key cities taking the center stage," said Zhang Bo, head of Beijing-based 58 Anjuke Research Institute.

"This structural recovery reflects a supply and demand balance that is continuously improving. With further consolidation of this stabilization trend, an early-spring peak in home transactions is expected," Zhang said.

A total of 38,000 units of used homes were traded in secondary markets across 79 cities nationwide during the past week, against 29,000 units in 2024 and 31,000 units in 2025, respectively, during the same one-week periods, Chinese financial news outlet Yicai reported, citing data compiled by GF Securities.

Contact the writers at wang_ying@chinadaily.com.cn