Warmth in the midst of divergence: Holiday real estate market signals a "small spring" recovery

During the Qingming Day holiday stretch, spring’s warmth has gradually intensified, and the real estate market in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, has also quietly begun to heat up. In the Rongjiang New District, the project positioned as an improvement-type residence—Ganzhou’s first new-regulation fourth-generation housing project, Yunding Yihao—has attracted many residents to visit and seek consultations. The scene is bustling with people, and staff members move back and forth amid the activity.

“During the Qingming holiday, the number of people coming to view homes every day has doubled compared with before. On a daily basis, more than 40 groups of clients come for consultations, and everyone’s enthusiasm for buying and viewing homes is running high.” Huang Jinfu, the marketing manager for the Yunding Yihao project, said that since the end of last year, the project has released 246 residential units and has already sold 165, with sales progress that is fairly evident.

The data confirms the market’s renewed vitality. A reporter learned from the Ganzhou Municipal Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural Development that in March, the record-filing area for residential housing across the entire city increased year on year by 19.9%, and increased month on month by 40.08%. The central urban areas saw increases of 59.4% and 80.18%, respectively.

Similar scenarios have also appeared in Zibo, Shandong. On the morning of April 4, at the sales office of the Zibo Xin Hongcheng · Qiyuan project in Shandong, resident Fang Xin hurried in before the start of the holiday, coming to view homes. As a “newly minted dad,” his key concerns about buying a home are whether the property’s sound insulation is good enough and whether the renovation process will be hassle-free.

“At present, the 143-square-meter three-bedroom, two-living-room unit is the project’s main selling floor plan, and the overall unit sell-through rate for all available projects has reached 65%.” He Ye, the project’s marketing manager, said that from April 1 to April 3 alone, the number of signed orders reached 20 units. Throughout the entire Qingming holiday, visits exceeded 100 groups, and the transaction value reached 13 million yuan.

In first-tier cities, relocation demand has become the core driver for the market’s rebound. Mr. Wang (a pseudonym) is the owner of a one-bedroom unit in Beijing’s Wangjing Xiyuan. To meet the housing needs of the couple’s children and elderly family members, he hoped to relocate to a higher-quality three-bedroom apartment within the Wangjing area. His original plan was “sell first, then buy,” so that the relocation could be completed in a reliable manner. However, changes in the market’s pace made him adjust his strategy decisively.

“Starting in January this year, the number of people coming to see my apartment noticeably increased. At the same time, several intent-based properties I had my eye on were quickly closed.” Mr. Wang frankly said that this kind of anxiety—“worrying I’ll miss out and end up not being able to buy”—made him realize that he could no longer just passively wait. On April 3, he went to a certain Lianjia store in Wangjing in Beijing. After two days of showings, he made the decisive decision to “buy first, then sell.” After thorough communication with the owners of the new home, both sides agreed on a transaction cycle lasting 5 months, which gave him time to sell his existing property. Finally, on April 5, Mr. Wang successfully completed the signing, putting an “acceleration button” on his family’s path to improving their housing.

Gao Yuan, President of the Research Institute of Lianjia in Beijing, said that based on March data, Beijing’s “spring uptick” in the secondhand market—where overall transaction volume rose and prices stayed stable—arrived as expected. According to Lianjia data, in March, the number of secondhand housing contracts signed online in Beijing reached 19,886 units, up 3.4% year on year and up 144.6% month on month, reaching the highest level in nearly 15 months. Looking at the more forward-looking agreements signed under the tripartite protocol, in March, the number of secondhand housing transactions concluded under tripartite agreements by major brokerage institutions increased 8.7% year on year, and the actual monthly transaction volume reached the highest level in nearly 17 months.

Yan Yuejin, Deputy Director of the Shanghai E-House (EJU) Real Estate Research Institute, pointed out that the “spring uptick” momentum in the property market during the first quarter has been effectively carried on during the Qingming holiday period. On one hand, overall market activity has remained at a high level, and key indicators such as opening volumes have run steadily, continuing the rebound trend from the first quarter. On the other hand, based on feedback from intermediaries in Shanghai and other places, the relocation chain of “sell the old and buy the new” has been further connected, and the degree of connection is significantly greater than before.

“This isn’t only reflected in faster listing schedules and a continued increase in supply for secondhand homes; the new home market is also showing a positive and active trend at the same time.” Yan Yuejin said that the continuous rollout and layered empowerment from a series of favorable policies, especially the implementation of support policies for provident funds, further stabilizes and boosts market expectations. This has laid a solid foundation to sustain the “spring uptick” in April and promote a smooth rebound.

Zhang Bo, President of the 58 Anjuke Research Institute, said this year’s “spring uptick” has a more structural character. Overall, secondhand housing has performed better than new homes, rather than a broad-based, across-the-board price rise. He believes that as the relocation chain for secondhand homes continues to be progressively connected, the new home market is likely to see improvement-demand take the baton. He expects the national market in April and May to continue the structural repair trend. The China Index Academy believes that in the second quarter, high-quality projects entering the market in a concentrated manner, together with policy overlays, will provide support for transactions in core cities.

However, Li Yujia, Chief Researcher at the Housing Policy Research Center of the Guangdong Urban Planning and Development Institute, believes that the rebound foundation still needs to be consolidated, and policies must be continuously optimized to stabilize expectations. “Steady progress with differentiation moving forward” will be the main tone for the 2026 real estate market, and a fully broad rebound still awaits support from multiple factors such as population, industries, and finance. (Reporters Liang Qian, Chen Zhuzuo, Zhang Zhongren)

(Editor: Wen Jing)

Keywords:

                                                            Real estate market