Second-Hand Home Sales in Shanghai Hit Decade High in April

Pre-owned home sales in Shanghai surged last month to a 10-year high, mainly due to impacts from the Chinese New Year falling later this year than in previous years and improved market expectations.

Some 28,742 second-hand homes were sold in Shanghai in April, up 22 percent from a year earlier and exceeding the previous decade peak for the month of 27,080 units set in 2019, according to Shanghai Online Real Estate. Combined sales for the past two months reached about 59,200 units, the most since 2021.

Pre-owned home sales in 20 key Chinese cities rose 13 percent to around 150,000 units last month from a year ago, but the per square meter average price dropped 8.3 percent to CNY12,733 (USD1,867), according to data from the China Index Academy.

This year's Chinese New Year fell later, delaying the release of demand in the real estate market, the China Index Academy said. Improvements in market expectations also contributed to a significant increase in second-hand home sales in April, it added.

Beijing saw second-hand home sales jump more than 15 percent to 17,893 units, setting a five-year high for April, according to official figures. The figure topped at 19,886 units in March, a new high for the past 15 months.

In the other two first-tier cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou, sales of pre-owned homes reached 5,644 units and 10,426 units last month, respectively, with the first figure down 1.6 percent and the second up 4.8 percent from a year ago.

The rebound in first-tier cities may influence second- and even third- and fourth-tier cities, noted Lu Wenxi, a senior analyst at Shanghai Centaline Property Agency. However, the transmission routes and intensity of such effects remain to be further observed under the current market structure, Lu pointed out.

The market bouncing back does not necessarily indicate a significant increase in sales or the beginning of a new cycle, according to a report by Anjuke Shanghai. Instead, the market is more likely to exhibit characteristics of "moderate growth in volume, stable prices, and gradual recovery" in the near term, it stressed.