Shanghai’s used housing market is demonstrating renewed vitality as it heads into the traditional peak season, supported by robust pre-owned home sales, improved new-home transactions, and recent policy adjustments, according to industry experts.
Despite August typically being a sluggish period for real estate activity, the city recorded 23,137 second-hand home sales last month, reflecting a 16 percent increase compared to the same period in 2022, according to data from the Shanghai Real Estate Trading Center. Daily transaction volumes also exceeded 1,000 units over a recent weekend, signaling increased market dynamism.
This marks the sixth consecutive month since March in which monthly second-hand home sales in Shanghai have surpassed 23,000 units, underscoring a sustained uptrend. Yan Yuejin, deputy head of the Shanghai E-House China Research and Development Institute, observed that the recovery began in the final quarter of last year and has continued steadily through the summer months. He noted that maintaining transaction volumes above 20,000 units even in off-peak periods indicates overall market improvement.
Zhang Bo, head of the Beijing-based 58 Anjuke Institute, said the consistent activity in the pre-owned market sets a solid foundation for significant year-on-year gains in September and October. He attributed this trajectory partly to a recently introduced eight-item policy package intended to address imbalances between pre-owned and new housing sectors.
Launched on August 20, these local policy adjustments have encouraged new-home sales, particularly in areas between Shanghai’s Outer Ring Road and its outskirts, where transaction volumes increased by 5.5 percent compared to July, according to Lu Wenxi, an analyst at Centaline Shanghai. Lu added that the new measures have also diversified the supply of new apartments available to buyers.
Despite this progress, new-home transactions remained relatively muted in August, with 3,168 units sold, amounting to approximately 400,000 square meters of commercial housing. Over the first eight months of the year, total new housing sales reached 3.26 million square meters, or 25,800 units, said Cheng Yu, executive vice-general manager at China Index Academy’s Shanghai office.
Cheng highlighted that the recent policy package was designed to align with local market conditions, focusing on improving the circulation of suburban housing inventories. These measures aim to assist buyers with basic residential needs as well as those seeking to upgrade their living standards.
As Shanghai enters its traditional peak season, often referred to in China as “gold September and silver October,” housing market participants anticipate continued momentum. Cheng emphasized that combined with supportive central government policies, market stability is expected to be maintained in the coming months.