This spring, the real estate markets in Shanghai and its surrounding areas are experiencing genuine warmth. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in April, both new and pre-owned home prices in Shanghai recorded the highest month-on-month increases among 70 major cities, positioning the city as a frontrunner in the current market recovery.
Simultaneously, varying degrees of market warming have been observed in cities such as Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, and Hefei.
The heat in the property market is most convincingly demonstrated by transaction volumes. According to CRIC data, the total transaction area for commercial residential properties in the five cities of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, and Hefei reached 1.9935 million square meters in April, marking a 10% increase from the previous month. Hangzhou led with 619,900 square meters, followed by Shanghai with 427,900 square meters. All five cities saw positive month-on-month growth in transaction area, with Hefei registering the highest increase at 30.9%.
Price trends also tell a compelling story. Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics on home prices in 70 large and medium-sized cities for April revealed that among 12 Yangtze River Delta cities, prices rose in four, remained flat in two, and declined in six. Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Hefei even achieved year-on-year price increases. Furthermore, CRIC data indicates that the average transaction price for new commercial residential properties across 40 Yangtze River Delta cities in April was 29,523 yuan per square meter, up 5.6% month-on-month and 3.3% year-on-year.
Lu Wenxi, an analyst at Shanghai Centaline Property, noted that the rise in average new home transaction prices is partly due to increased activity in high-end improvement projects. Among Shanghai's top 10 transaction list for April, three properties had an average price exceeding 100,000 yuan per square meter, with the most significant price increases observed in larger units over 144 square meters.
Data shows that while the number of new commercial housing transactions is far lower than that of pre-owned homes, they contribute more significantly to the total transaction area. For instance, in Shanghai, new commercial housing transactions accounted for only 9% of the total number of deals in April but represented 16% of the total transaction area.
Lu Wenxi believes that following the "Golden March and Silver April" period, a "Red May" is highly likely, with overall new home prices expected to continue their month-on-month upward trend.
The more encouraging aspect of the Yangtze River Delta property market in April was the recovery in pre-owned home prices. Shanghai's pre-owned home prices have achieved three consecutive months of growth since February, with the rate of increase accelerating—0.2% in February, 0.4% in March, and reaching 0.7% in April. Besides Shanghai, cities like Xuzhou, Ningbo, and Hefei have also seen recent increases in pre-owned home prices. Although Hangzhou and Nanjing have not seen price hikes, the rate of decline has narrowed significantly.
In terms of transaction volume, the pre-owned home market in the Yangtze River Delta is also quite vibrant. CRIC data shows that Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Suzhou all achieved year-on-year increases in both the number of transactions and transaction area. In April, Nanjing's pre-owned residential transaction area reached 988,400 square meters, a 7.2% increase from the previous month, while Suzhou saw a substantial 37.6% month-on-month surge in transaction area.
In March, Shanghai set a five-year record for monthly pre-owned home transactions. In April, the transaction volume for pre-owned homes in Shanghai still surged over 20% month-on-month, reaching a new high for April in nearly a decade. Lu Wenxi pointed out that while the start of April was slightly affected by the Qingming holiday, the market quickly regained its momentum.
It is noteworthy that data from Centaline Property shows a 1 percentage point decrease in the share of Shanghai's pre-owned home transactions for properties under 3 million yuan, which have long dominated the market, compared to March. This decrease was particularly pronounced for homes under 50 square meters. This indicates a growing trend of trade-up purchases beyond just first-time homebuyer demand, signaling an important shift towards more diverse and positive market demand.
Policies in the Yangtze River Delta continue to bolster the property market. Incomplete statistics show that over 40 property market optimization policies have been implemented across various regions since the beginning of the year.
On the macro policy front, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development recently jointly issued the 2026 Central Government Financial Urban Renewal Subsidy Policy, with a total subsidy exceeding 15 billion yuan, focusing on renovating old residential communities and improving infrastructure. Yangtze River Delta cities Wuxi, Ningbo, and Ma'anshan are included in the list of subsidized cities.
At the local level, cities in the Yangtze River Delta have implemented city-specific policies, effectively contributing to the market's warming trend.
Shanghai introduced the "Shanghai Seven Measures" at the end of February, releasing positive signals by relaxing home purchase thresholds, optimizing provident fund loans, and improving property tax policies. The effects of these policies have been evident and continued to influence the market through March and April. Recently, Shanghai plans to further expand its pilot program for purchasing pre-owned homes to five central urban districts, aiming to better connect the primary and secondary market chains and boost market activity.
Nanjing announced the "Nanjing Six Measures" in March, including loan interest subsidies for "selling old to buy new," continuing the "housing voucher" policy, and adjusting down payment ratios for commercial properties. On the day the "Nanjing Six Measures" took effect, Nanjing recorded 460 pre-owned home transactions, setting a new single-day record for the year.
In April, Wuxi introduced new home purchase policies, offering subsidies of up to 400,000 yuan for college-educated talent and up to 200,000 yuan for families upgrading their homes, with the talent subsidy directly deductible from the down payment. Following the new policies, visits to various property developments in Wuxi during the May Day holiday increased by 75.5% year-on-year.
Hangzhou released the "Hangzhou Eight Measures" provident fund policy, raising the maximum provident fund loan amount from 1.3 million yuan to 1.8 million yuan. Taicang in Jiangsu adjusted the down payment ratio for provident fund loans to 15%. Hefei implemented policies such as allowing "commercial-to-provident" loan conversions for individuals with housing fund contributions from other locations and expanding the scope of provident fund withdrawals. These measures have all played a positive role in stimulating their respective local property markets.
The recovery of the Yangtze River Delta property market is the result of combined effects from policy support, improved supply and demand, and restored market expectations. Shanghai's "volume and price rising together" serves as a bellwether, leading the Yangtze River Delta to become a primary arena for the property market's resurgence.
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