Will the popularity brought by "Good Houses" last?

In recent times, the real estate market has shown new developments. Driven by demand being released, some cities’ real estate markets have begun to recover. In cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, the real estate markets have warmed up first. In the land market, core cities’ high-quality land parcels have drawn strong attention, and some were sold at high premiums. In 2026, keeping the real estate market stable remains an important task. Local authorities should continue implementing measures tailored to local conditions to control incremental supply, reduce inventory, and improve supply, thereby improving the supply-demand relationship in real estate and restoring market confidence.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that in February, the month-on-month decline in the sales prices of commercial residential housing in 70 large and medium-sized cities continued to narrow. The number of cities where the month-on-month price of newly built commercial residential housing rose or stayed flat reached 17, an increase of 9 compared with the previous month. Entering March, some cities saw transaction volumes rise more noticeably.

The secondhand housing market is warming even more. In March, Beijing’s secondhand housing online contract signings were nearly 20,000 units, up 3.4% year over year, and 144.6% higher than in February. The online contract signing scale reached the highest level in nearly 15 months. In Shanghai, the number of secondhand home transactions reached 31,000 units—up 6% from last March and up 37% sharply from this January. According to data from Lianjia, Shanghai’s secondhand home price index rose 1% month over month, while the number of viewings increased by 28% compared with January, providing support for subsequent transactions. In March, the number of secondhand home transactions in Shenzhen grew 124% from February. In Guangzhou, the number of secondhand home transactions grew 141.4% from February.

The new home market has been uneven in temperature: in some cities, transaction volumes increased, while inventory reduction pressure in lower-tier cities (third- and fourth-tier) is still present. In March, the number of newly built home units sold in Shanghai increased by nearly 50% compared with February. In Beijing, March’s newly built home sales volume was more than triple that of February. In addition, in cities such as Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Nanjing, new projects in prime locations saw clear increases in foot traffic, and transaction volumes also rose.

Some second-tier cities have seen improvement as well. In March, in Hefei, both new home and secondhand home transaction volumes increased significantly compared with February. In Wuhan, the month-on-month transaction volume of newly built commercial housing grew 79% compared with February. Transaction volume in Nanjing also shows an upward trend, with most transactions concentrated in units for first-home demand and for “improvement” needs driven by first-home demand.

One reason some cities’ real estate markets have been more active recently is that around the period of the Spring Festival, housing demand from young people getting married and purchasing homes, housing demand from returning to the city for employment, and long-standing rigid demand such as buying homes so children can attend school were released in a more concentrated way, leading to an increase in the number of home sales. At the same time, local authorities have continued to adjust and optimize real estate policy controls, focusing on boosting demand activation, reducing inventory, and revitalizing existing stock. They have optimized restrictive policies, adjusted provident fund mortgage lending, issued home-purchase subsidies, and improved supporting policies related to urban renewal, among other measures; the policy effects have continued to become evident. Statistics show that in the first quarter alone, more than 100 provinces and municipalities (counties) across China issued about 160 policy measures.

“Good homes” are bringing heat to the market. In some cities, high-quality land parcels are being introduced in core areas, and developers are actively building high-quality residential projects. After “good homes” enter the market, they have been favored by homebuyers. With the increase in the supply of “good homes,” along with a more active secondhand home market, secondhand home owners sell their old homes and buy new ones, effectively activating improvement-driven home-exchange demand. The chain of secondhand home transactions has begun to operate, helping the new home and secondhand home markets form a healthy feedback loop.

Will the warmth in the real estate market continue? While China’s real estate market is undergoing deep adjustment, the real estate industry is gradually strengthening the foundation for steady and healthy development through the combined efforts of multiple parties. The real estate industry is an important sector of the national economy and a major source of residents’ wealth. The healthy development of the real estate market affects the overall situation of economic and social development as well as the immediate interests of the people. Local authorities are adopting stronger and more precise measures to keep the real estate market stable. We should have confidence in the future of the real estate market. (This article’s source: Economic Daily; Author: Kang Shu)