New Home Sales During the Dragon Boat Festival Holiday Were Mixed, While Volume Discount Remained the Mainstream for Second-Hand Homes in May

During this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the performance of the new home market varied.

Data released by Centaline Property on June 3 showed that a total of 46,100 m² of newly built commercial residential properties were sold in Shanghai during this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday (5.31-6.2), up 87.4% YoY.

"According to our monitored data, over 100 projects in Shanghai recorded sales contracts during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Most projects had single-digit sales, but there were still some popular projects with significant sales volumes. Among these, some high-quality projects, due to their large sales volumes, drove up the transaction data," said Lu Wenxi, Senior Research Manager at Centaline Property.

In Wuhan, data released by the China Index Academy today showed that 571 newly built commercial residential properties were registered online in Wuhan during this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday, with a registered area of 64,900 m², an increase of 26% compared to the holiday last year.

It is understood that the increase in transaction volume in Wuhan during this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday was mainly due to developers seizing the holiday opportunity to increase their marketing efforts and launch new projects. Many projects obtained sales permits and were launched before the holiday. Projects with good sales performance were mostly newly planned projects with significant product advantages, leading to better sales.

In Shenzhen, according to statistics from the Shenzhen Centaline Research Center, during this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday (5.31-6.2), 194 new residential properties (including both existing and pre-sale properties) were sold in Shenzhen, including 167 pre-sale new residential properties, down 23.4% compared to the Dragon Boat Festival holiday last year; 97 second-hand residential properties were sold, up 32.9% YoY.

Meng Xinzeng, Senior Analyst at the China Index Academy, introduced that during this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday, some projects in certain cities did perform well. However, overall, although most cities continued their previous sales promotions, the market performance remained relatively mediocre.

He stated that, based on the market transaction situation in May, the MoM price increase of new homes in 100 cities expanded, while the second-hand home market continued the trend of "volume discount."

According to data monitored by the China Index Academy, in May 2025, the average price of newly built residential properties in 100 cities nationwide was 16,815 yuan/m², up 0.30% MoM, with the increase expanding by 0.16 percentage points compared to April, and up 2.56% YoY.

Several industry insiders told reporters that the increase in average prices was somewhat related to the driving factors of the transaction structure.

"The active performance of improved housing projects has driven the continued increase in average prices in May, especially in first-tier cities, where the increase was more pronounced. Among these, first-tier cities saw a 0.9% MoM increase, with the growth rate rising by 0.53 percentage points compared to the previous month. At the same time, it should be noted that second-tier cities only saw a slight 0.06% MoM increase, a decrease from the 0.1% increase in the previous month, while third- and fourth-tier cities continued to see MoM declines."Li Yujia, the chief researcher at the Guangdong Provincial Housing Policy Research Center, said.

Regarding this phenomenon, the president of the 58 Anjuke Research Institute told reporters that, from the supply side, mid-year is typically an important period for property sales. Developers tend to accelerate the launch of new projects in high-tier cities, and the increase in the supply of high-quality properties has become a significant force driving up market transaction activity.

"Many real estate enterprises are currently betting on 'high-end improvement properties,' leading to a concentrated entry of high-quality projects in core cities. Additionally, the heat in the land market in core cities also spills over into the new home market. Cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou have all auctioned off plots with high total and unit prices. In particular, Hangzhou's overall premium rate significantly outpaces other cities, which has also played a role in boosting market enthusiasm and expectations," Zhang Bo said in an interview with reporters.

Industry insiders pointed out that while projects in prime locations in some high-tier cities are selling well, it should also be noted that the MoM decline in second-hand housing prices widened in May, with varying degrees of pullbacks observed across all tier cities.

Data from the China Index Academy showed that in May 2025, the average price of second-hand residential properties in 100 cities was 13,794 yuan/m², down 0.71% MoM, with the decline widening by 0.02 percentage points compared to March; it was down 7.24% YoY.

Li Yujia introduced that since April, the listing volume of second-hand homes has continued to increase, particularly with a rise in the listing volume of large-sized units in the market.

"The increase in replacement demand among some homeowners has led to a growth in the listing volume. The entry of improved new properties into the market has become more pronounced in competition with existing homes. Coupled with an increase in homeowners willing to sell at a discount, this has resulted in a more noticeable adjustment in second-hand home prices," Li Yujia said.

In response, Zhang Bo also pointed out that due to policy adjustments in the new home market and concessions from developers, some homebuyers may shift to the new home market, intensifying competition in the second-hand home market. He predicts that if the listing volume of second-hand homes continues to increase, it may force second-hand home prices to continue to pull back.

"From the perspective of the second-hand home market, due to factors such as land scarcity, large population inflows, and high levels of economic development in the core areas of hot cities, home prices are expected to remain relatively stable. Some scarce properties with location advantages may even see a slight rise. However, properties without unique location or resource advantages will face market competition pressures. For some small and medium-sized cities with large inventories, the destocking pressure in the second-hand home market remains significant, and it is still necessary to continue promoting transactions through measures such as price reductions," Zhang Bo added.

Meng Xinzeng also believes that after the school district demand for second-hand homes has been released in stages, transactions are expected to gradually stabilize by mid-year. Under the influence of high listing volumes, "volume discount" will remain the mainstream in the second-hand home market in the short term.