Transactions of pre-owned homes in major Chinese cities led by Shanghai surged in March, fuelling expectations that the country’s embattled property sector may be stabilising.
Analysts and brokers said a more active resale market pointed to a gradual return of confidence among homebuyers after a three-year downturn.
In Shanghai, about 22,000 second-hand homes changed hands between March 1 and 23, up 170 per cent from the same period a month earlier, according to data from local financial outlet Cailian. Full-month transactions are expected to exceed the key 30,000-unit mark, which would represent a three-year high.
Momentum has been broad-based. Huatai Securities said transactions of pre-owned homes across 26 cities it tracks rose 22 per cent year on year after the Chinese New Year holiday in mid-February.
In China’s four top-tier cities – Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen – volumes increased by about 20 per cent over the same period.
In Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, official data showed 5,789 second-hand homes were sold in the first three weeks of March, up 54 per cent from a year earlier.