Business · Companies · 3 hrs ago
Home sales diverge in China as second-hand deals rise 17.5%
China's housing market showed uneven results in October as the year-end sales period began.
New-home sales area across 100 cities fell 15% from a year earlier, while Beijing and Shanghai recorded increases of 24% and 4%, respectively.
Guangzhou and Shenzhen saw declines, and analysts said reduced new-home supply was one factor in weaker sales there.
By contrast, second-hand home sales rose 17.5% year on year across 18 key cities, with Shanghai up 35%.
Prices moved in different directions: new-home prices across 100 cities rose 0.18% from September, while second-hand prices fell 0.61%.
The figures show a market still trying to stabilise, with sales and prices varying by city and home type.
Analysts expect mortgage-interest subsidies and year-end promotions to support new-home sales, while second-hand prices may continue to edge down.
Second-hand home sales in 18 major Chinese cities rose 17.5% year on year in October.
New-home sales showed a mixed picture: sales area fell 15% across 100 cities, while Beijing and Shanghai recorded annual increases.
October second-hand transactions totalled 116,000 across the 18 cities, and sales for January to October were up 7.3% year on year.
New-home supply in 50 major cities fell 63.9% from September and 27.8% from a year earlier.
The article says reduced new-home supply and mortgage-interest subsidies that cover a larger share of second-hand homes may have contributed to the divergence.
- Who
- Home buyers and sellers in China’s housing market, including those in 18 major cities.
- What
- Second-hand home sales rose 17.5% year on year in October, while new-home sales varied by city and fell across 100 cities overall.
- When
- October 2026; the article was published on November 5, 2026.
- Where
- China, with data covering 18, 50 and 100 key cities, depending on the measure.
- Why
- The article cites reduced new-home supply and says mortgage-interest subsidies apply to a larger share of second-hand homes than new homes.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
New-home sales area fell 15% year on year across 100 cities, while second-hand sales rose 17.5% across 18 major cities.
Second-hand home transactions in the 18 cities reached 1.23 million, up 7.3% year on year.
China News Service published the report on the diverging housing-market trends.
- Second-hand sales
- 116,000 transactions in 18 major cities in October, up 17.5% year on year
- New-home sales
- Sales area across 100 cities fell 15% year on year in October
- Beijing
- New-home sales area rose 24% year on year in October
- Shanghai
- New-home sales area rose 4% year on year in October
- New-home supply
- 5.98 million square metres across 50 major cities in October, down 27.8% year on year
What people are saying
The purchase-loan interest subsidy policy helps reduce residents’ home-buying costs, and, together with developers’ year-end promotions and the entry of quality projects in core cities, is expected to provide some support for new-home transactions, but the overall market is expected to remain in a bottoming-out phase; second-hand home transactions are likely to remain somewhat active, but with market expectations still weak, second-hand home prices are expected to fluctuate with slight declines.