FOLLOWING the introduction of new real estate policies Sept. 29, Shenzhen has seen a remarkable upswing in its housing market. During the fourth week of October (Oct. 21-27), 1,605 new residential properties were registered online in the city, marking an almost two-thirds increase year on year, sznews.com reported Saturday.

The momentum was particularly notable Oct. 25, when the number of online registrations for new home transactions reached 313, nearly matching the number of pre-owned home transactions.

That day also marked the first time this year that online registrations for new home transactions surpassed 300 in a single day, breaking the previous trend of a roughly 1:2 ratio between new and pre-owned property transactions.

The surge was no fleeting occurrence. The next day, registrations rose to a new high of 370, setting a record for daily online registrations of new residential properties in Shenzhen this year.

Data analysis by Nanfang Plus revealed that in the first 10 months of the year, only once — in June — did consecutive daily online registrations for new properties top 200. In contrast, September’s daily registrations barely exceeded 100 units once, making October’s performance particularly striking.

He Qianru, director of Midland Realty’s national research center, attributed the bustling activity in the new housing market to the new policies. Both local and nonlocal buyers were flooding the market, making sales offices bustle with activity.

He predicted that online registrations for new home transactions will maintain their upward trajectory in November, with the potential for further spikes in daily records.

Real estate agency Leyoujia.com’s data showed that from Sept. 30 to Oct. 28, the transaction volume of new homes reported by its stores soared by 501% compared to the period before the new policies were unveiled. By Oct. 28, the subscription volume for new residential properties had exceeded 10,000 units for the first time in recent years.

Leyoujia.com also noted a significant uptick in new home viewings, which surged by 178%. Districts like Longhua, Guangming, Bao’an, and Nanshan have seen a notable rise in popularity, with the most sought-after properties located in Longhua and Guangming.

Shenzhen’s latest housing policies include measures such as the optimization and adjustment of district-based housing purchase restrictions, the removal of transfer restrictions on commercial housing and commercial apartments, and an enhanced process for the price registration of commercial housing and commercial apartments, all of which took effect Oct. 1.

China’s biggest cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, unanimously unveiled new policies to further free up the property sector late in September, with Guangzhou scrapping all existing home buying restrictions to become the first first-tier city to lift home purchase requirements. (Zhang Yu)