Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen Introduce New Housing Policies; Third-Quarter Market Prospects Brighten

Since August, first-tier cities Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen have introduced a slate of real estate measures that have invigorated market activity. As September unfolds, developers are racing to leverage this prime sales period and deliver a robust third-quarter performance.

Each municipality has conditionally eased purchase restrictions while extending layered incentives to homebuyers, significantly expanding the potential for both first-time and upgrade demand. On September 5, Shenzhen issued its “Notice on Further Optimizing and Adjusting the City’s Real Estate Policy Measures,” removing unit caps for qualifying households in designated districts, waiving eligibility reviews in certain areas, treating single adults as family units under purchase rules, and standardizing mortgage rates across first and second homes—steps that exceeded market expectations.

Earlier, on August 25, the Shanghai Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Commission together with five other departments issued a “Notice on Optimizing and Adjusting the City’s Real Estate Policy Measures,” relaxing purchase limits and deploying tools such as provident fund access, supportive credit policies, and property tax relief to reinforce a stable, improving market. Beijing’s August 8 joint notice from its Housing and Urban-Rural Development Commission and Housing Provident Fund Management Center lifted home-count restrictions for eligible families purchasing outside the Fifth Ring Road.

The immediate response has been positive: high-quality projects in all three cities reported clear upticks in visitor numbers and inquiry volumes on launch day. A Shenzhen agent told Securities Daily that Luohu and Longgang in particular saw notable increases in both visits and sales. According to Yan Yuejin, Deputy Director of the Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute, leading indicators and transaction data post-policy rollout suggest the third quarter will deliver meaningful gains as the market emerges from its seasonal lull.

Industry insiders agree that sustained policy support has bolstered buyer confidence and unlocked latent demand, providing developers with crucial momentum for their third-quarter targets. In turn, many have accelerated presale launches and inventory rollouts, while off-plan developments are intensifying client-acquisition efforts. Projects awarded land earlier this year are also fast-tracking their marketing calendars ahead of imminent opening plans.

Phase II of Beijing Jianfa Jinmao·Guancheng exemplifies this trend: sold in late June and slated for a September-end debut, the project team reports that a RMB 100,000 reservation secures early registration and grants a RMB 10,000 discount per week of advance booking, alongside additional promotional incentives.

Despite a prolonged period of industry adjustment and a cautious approach to sales targets, several leading developers have still achieved year-on-year revenue growth. This highlights the ongoing challenge of maintaining stable development amid an increasingly differentiated market landscape.

Zhang Hongwei, Founder of Shanghai Mirror Consulting Co., notes that the third quarter has traditionally been the linchpin for annual performance. He warns that with market pressures persisting, developers must seize this policy window to expedite project launches and cash-flow recovery if they aim to secure their full-year objectives and shape fourth-quarter strategies