Real estate markets in multiple cities show "small spring" momentum with hot projects "selling out at launch"

Source: Securities Daily Author: Chen Xiao

Since March, the real estate market in many cities has gradually shown signs of a “small spring,” with many hot projects selling well immediately after opening, and market sentiment significantly improving compared to the beginning of the year. Developers are accelerating their launch pace to seize the window of opportunity and speed up sales and cash flow.

Specifically, Beijing’s new home market was the first to show warmth. On March 22, the Jiatang Jingyue project, developed jointly by Beijing Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd., opened for sale, selling 266 units on the same day.

A real estate agent from Lianjia told Securities Daily that the project offered about 400 units, with more than 500 groups of reservations before opening. “Smaller units around 100 square meters are selling faster, and buyers are more actively entering the market.”

On March 20, a reporter from Securities Daily visited the sales office of the Zhongjian Guoxianfu PARK project, which had not yet opened. The office was bustling with people, the negotiation area was full, and some people were waiting in line to enter the showrooms. “The project is preparing to open, and recent visitor numbers have increased significantly. It’s also busy on weekdays,” a sales staff member said.

The high-end market in Shenzhen also continues to perform strongly. In March, the Shenzhen Bay Yunxi project, jointly developed by China Resources Land Limited and China Overseas Property Development Group, reopened for sale and experienced another wave of hot sales. The project has achieved a total sales of over 23.9 billion yuan in four months since its launch.

The Shanghai market also has notable highlights. In mid-March, the Zhongjian Yipin·The Bund Yuanjing project reopened for the second time, achieving 900 million yuan in sales and setting a new sales record for landscape-type products within 48 hours. The second batch of units at the Zhonghuan Luydao project sold out immediately upon launch.

From the data perspective, market enthusiasm is gradually increasing. According to the China Index Academy, in the 12th week of 2026 (March 15–21), the new home transaction area in 30 cities was 2.48 million square meters, a month-on-month increase of 15.9%. Among them, Beijing’s new home transactions increased by 31.7% MoM, the highest among first-tier cities; second-tier representative cities such as Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Suzhou saw significant transaction volume growth, with 1.47 million square meters sold, up 30.1% MoM.

Looking at a longer time frame, the upward trend becomes even clearer. Since March 1 to March 21, the transaction area of new homes in 30 cities increased by 101.4% MoM, doubling, indicating a rising market heat.

Signs of recovery are also evident in the second-hand housing market. The China Index Academy data shows that in the 12th week of 2026, 36,003 second-hand homes were sold in 20 cities, an 11.3% MoM increase. Among them, Beijing’s second-hand home transactions increased by 19.7% MoM and 13.7% YoY. Overall, since March, second-hand home transactions in 20 cities increased by 90.3% MoM, with activity significantly rising.

Meanwhile, inventory pressures in key cities have eased. Data from the China Index Academy shows that the available new home area in Shenzhen decreased by 3.5% MoM, with a faster clearance rate among first-tier cities. Some second-tier cities also saw inventory declines, indicating improved market absorption capacity.

On the policy front, signals to stabilize the housing market continue to be released. For example, Shanghai lowered the down payment ratio for commercial properties to 30%, Nanjing provided interest subsidies for home replacement, and cities like Shenzhen and Shenyang have optimized housing provident fund policies to promote demand release through multiple measures.

Overall, since March, the real estate market has shown features of “rising transactions and accelerated project launches.” Yan Yuejin, Deputy Director of the E-house China Research and Development Institute, told Securities Daily that with continued policy efforts and the concentration of high-quality projects entering the market, the market heat in core cities is expected to persist. However, differentiation among cities and projects will continue, and a full industry recovery will still take time.