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Daniel Ren

Property brokers in China’s major cities are expecting busier days as would-be homebuyers take a cue from a recent policy shift by Beijing aimed at reviving the slumbering real estate market.
Some say they are being swamped by inquiries and are trying to seal as many deals as possible amid a recovery in confidence, while others are keeping their fingers crossed for more government stimulus to sustain the growing momentum.
“Government support always holds the key to the performance of the home market,” said Yang Keju, a broker at a Lianjia property agency branch in Pudong, Shanghai. “We are worried that the current high transaction volume could become short-lived.”
The central government published a package of incentives late last month in an effort to bolster the housing market. It included extended mortgage terms and encouraging sales of completed homes.
A longer mortgage repayment cycle – from 30 years to 40 years – can save a homebuyer thousands of yuan in monthly payments, and buying completed flats helps them dodge risks from developer defaults.
China Real Estate Business, a newspaper run by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said sales of new residential units in major cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen and Nanjing jumped in the first week of this month.
But while brokers said the policy shifts had sparked a short-term buying spree, they were not enough to trigger a broad market turnaround.
Analysts say China’s real estate sector and related industries, such as home appliances and construction materials, still account for about a quarter of economic output.
The grim reality is that policy support can only effectively release pent-up demand
You Liangzhou, Baonuo property agency
Early this year, Qiushi, a Communist Party journal, said in a commentary that the property sector was an important part of Chinese households’ wealth, which was taken by the market as an indication that the central and local governments would map out more stimulus measures to stabilise home prices and encourage home buying.
“The grim reality is that policy support can only effectively release pent-up demand, while few of our clients hoping to upgrade their living conditions have been willing to take action because they expect a further price drop,” said You Liangzhou, the owner of the Baonuo property agency in Shanghai.
“In Shanghai, homebuying restrictions are still preventing some buyers from owning more units and further market deregulation is needed to fully restore consumer confidence.”
Fitch Ratings said in a report published this month that the new policies would not boost housing demand materially or alter the weak sales and investment outlook for the real estate sector.
“Housing demand is likely to remain weak as the mortgage easing is unlikely to offset high inventory levels and low buyer confidence,” it said. “New-home sales are likely to continue declining, while near-term home prices remain broadly stable at the national level.”
Brokers in Shanghai said most owners trying to sell lived-in homes still had to offer discounts ranging from 5 to 10 per cent to secure a sale.
Shanghai’s property market was once overheated and the municipal government began tightening limits on home purchases in 2011 to cool it down. The measures included a ban on local households owning a third flat that was designed to rein in speculation.
But the municipal government has been gradually easing ownership rules since October 2024 in an effort to spur the local housing market, and now allows people who are not registered residents to buy homes in the city.
Since mid-2025, Beijing has been cutting insurance or income tax payment requirements for non-local families wanting to buy homes within the Fifth Ring Road that circles the city centre.
Non-Beijing residents are now eligible to buy homes within the Fifth Ring Road after completing at least one year of local income tax or social security payments, down from a three-year rule previously.


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Sales of new units in cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen have risen following central government moves designed to revive buyer confidence


Sales of new units in cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen have risen following central government moves designed to revive buyer confidence.


Will fresh incentives give China’s housing market more than a short-lived rebound?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Sales of new units in cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen have risen following central government moves designed to revive buyer confidence

Sales of new units in cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen have risen following central government moves designed to revive buyer confidence