Shanghai sees surge in home sales in March

Shanghai's real estate market is experiencing a long-awaited rebound, with home sales rising sharply following the city's rollout of a new policy package to boost buyer confidence.

The new policy, released on Feb 25 this year, aims to ease homebuying restrictions in the mega city and boost buyer confidence.

With the seven-item policy package in effect for a month, the city's home transactions have continued to climb.

According to the Shanghai Housing Administration, a total of 25,700 new and existing houses were sold in the past month, covering 2.17 million square meters, up 11 percent compared to the same period last year. At a real estate agency in Xuhui District, a branch manager said that clients are making decisions more quickly, with more buyers closing deals within seven days and a noticeable increase in first-time homebuyer activity.

"So far in March, the number of active transactions for our listings has reached about 110 units, which is an increase of around 60 percent compared to January. The number of property viewings at our branch so far this month has already exceeded 280 groups, up more than 50 percent from January," said Huang Yan, real estate agency manager.

"Since the new policy was rolled out, the ceiling on housing provident fund loans has been raised, easing much of the pressure we face when buying a home," said a homebuyer surnamed Li.

So far in the first quarter of this year, Shanghai's resale housing market has shown positive changes in transaction volume, listings, prices, and market expectations, with supply and demand becoming more balanced.

Meanwhile, cities across the affluent province of Guangdong in south China, including Shenzhen, Huizhou and Zhongshan, have also rolled out new housing provident fund policies. These measures include raising loan limits and relaxing withdrawal conditions, and bring under coverage flexible employment personnel, all aimed at creating a more supportive environment for homebuying.

To mark Chinese Sturgeon Protection Day, around 550,000 Chinese sturgeons were released into Jingzhou and Yichang sections of the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei Province, as well as in Shanghai, on Saturday.

Nicknamed "aquatic pandas," Chinese sturgeons have existed for over 140 million years. However, the natural population of the species in the Yangtze plummeted in the late 20th century due to intrusive human activities.

The fish is primarily protected through artificial breeding followed by release into the natural environment. In recent years, China has made significant conservation efforts, including expanding artificial breeding and release and fostering natural breeding of the species.

The annual releases of captive-bred Chinese sturgeons have exceeded 1 million for two consecutive years since 2024, effectively replenishing wild populations of the endangered species.