London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Chinese homebuyers go on ‘revenge spending’ binge as cities emerge from coronavirus lockdowns

Chinese homebuyers go on ‘revenge spending’ binge as cities emerge from coronavirus lockdowns

Demand was only deferred by lockdowns and did not disappear: Centaline. Rebound is fragile, S&P Global Ratings says, maintains view contracted sales will drop 5 per cent to 10 per cent in 2020

A property buying fever has gripped mainland Chinese homebuyers, who are indulging in some “revenge spending” on property as coronavirus lockdowns are lifted in major cities across the country.

All 160 units at a newly launched luxury project in Shanghai, selling for 17 million yuan (US$2.4 million) to 78 million yuan, were snapped up on Monday. The lucky few who got to buy these homes were drawn from a pool of about 500 applicants, who had to queue up last week and deposit 6 million yuan for just a chance to buy the flats.

“The demand was only deferred [by the lockdowns] and did not disappear. With new homes flooding the market, and developers wooing homebuyers with measures such as online viewings [during the outbreak] and discounts, we expect another jump in the coming months,” said Lu Wenxi, analyst at Hong Kong-based Centaline Property Agency. He said he expected 600,000 square metres in new home sales in Shanghai this month, doubling the amount recorded in March and three-and-a-half times the number in February.



Supportive policies by local governments have boosted home purchases in major cities recently. In Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, for instance, residential property purchases rose 37 per cent in the week ending April 20, compared with the previous week.

“Property sales have increased since last month, as businesses reopen and normal activities are resumed. We believe the recent high transaction volume is mainly driven by the release of pent-up demand from the mass market since the first quarter,” said Celine Yang, Assistant Vice-President-Analyst with Moody’s Investors Service’s Corporate Finance Group.

In the seven-day period to April 20, mainland China’s tier 1 and tier 2 cities recorded a 37 per cent weekly increase in home sales, with 1.3 million square metres of property sold according to China Real Estate Information Corporation (CRIC). In Shenzhen, about 152,000 square metres of homes were sold in the week ending April 26, an increase of 36 per cent over the previous week and 6 per cent higher than the same period in 2019. Fifty-four units worth 2.3 billion yuan were sold in half a day at a luxury project in Shenzhen on April 5, while 92 units in Guangzhou were sold online in 15 seconds on March 31.

“After the outbreak, we have seen that cooling measures, which were extremely strict in the past, have been loosened gradually in different cities to support the housing market,” said Zhang Dawei, chief analyst with Centaline in Beijing. “And there is still much room for further adjustment.”

About 60 cities, particularly mainland China’s tier 2 and tier 3 towns, had rolled out supportive measures as early as late 2019 to attract homebuyers, Zhang added. Hohhot, the capital of China’s autonomous Inner Mongolia region, for example, said on April 18 that all graduates from full-time universities in the past three years could purchase homes in the city at half prices.

Some analysts, however, see Beijing’s strong stance on not using the property sector to stimulate economic growth, and an unfolding global recession, as headwinds.

“The rebound in sales is fragile. Demand remains highly dependent on consumer [and investor] confidence, which is not a sure thing given the global economic downturn. For now, we maintain our base case view, which is that national contracted sales will drop 5 per cent to 10 per cent in 2020,” said Christopher Yip, senior director at S&P Global Ratings.

In the summary of a Politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping on April 17, a line about the property market highlighted once again that “houses are for people to live in, not to speculate on”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×