Shanghai Existing-Home Sales Surge to Five-Year High as City Eases Commercial Property Rules

Shanghai's existing-home market recorded its strongest weekly sales in nearly five years last week, with the online transaction system crashing repeatedly under the load.

Data from the city's online property platform showed 7,233 existing homes changed hands in the week ending March 15 – the highest weekly figure since 2021. Daily transactions broke 800 units for five consecutive working days, averaging 874 per day, Jiemian News reported on Monday.

Saturday's single-day tally hit 1,472 units, almost matching the 1,473 recorded on the same date last year, a figure that had stood as a recent benchmark for market intensity.

The system strain was visible in real time. "The transaction registration portal kept going down – I've been in this business five years and never seen that happen," said the manager of one Shanghai brokerage outlet quoted by Jiemian News.

By mid-March, cumulative monthly sales had reached 13,955 units, and at least one major agency projected the full month would close at around 27,000.

Agents and analysts attribute the surge primarily to the stimulus package that caught many prospective buyers off guard.

"I had planned to buy at the end of last year, took a look and decided it wasn't the right moment," said one buyer, who gave his name as Zhang Ming. "Then the new policy dropped and I scrambled to start viewing places."

The shift has reversed the usual dynamic between agents and clients. Where brokers previously had to coax reluctant buyers into viewings, buyers are now initiating contact. One outlet reported weekly viewing appointments climbing from roughly 12 groups before the Chinese New Year holiday to around 30 now. Sellers, though holding their listing prices steady, have quietly raised their internal expectations.

Competitive pressure is building. Agents at multiple outlets reported shorter closing timelines and, in some cases, two buyers competing for the same unit.

Official data released on Sunday added further support: Shanghai's existing-home prices rose 0.2 percent month-on-month in February, ending nine consecutive months of negative monthly readings and marking the first such gain in nearly ten months.

Also on Monday, the People's Bank of China's Shanghai headquarters announced that the minimum down payment for loans on commercial properties – including mixed-use "commercial-residential" units – would drop to 30 percent from 50 percent, effective March 16.

Yan Yuejin, deputy director of the E-House China Research Institute, described the transaction figures as "striking," citing the convergence of price correction, recovering confidence, and policy stimulus.

Zhang Wenci, senior research manager at Centaline Property, said the market had decisively left behind its subdued phase. "The spring buying season is no longer just a possibility – it has arrived."