In the first half of 2025, the overall real estate market is showing a trend of recovery, with improved sales of commercial housing in multiple core cities and a rebound in land investment enthusiasm. According to monitoring data from the China Index Research Institute, in the first half of 2025 (as of June 25, the same below), the online signing transaction area of newly-built commercial residential properties in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Chengdu has all increased year-on-year, with Shenzhen's year-on-year growth rate exceeding 30%. In terms of second-hand housing, the number of second-hand housing transactions in Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu all increased by over 20% year-on-year, while Shenzhen increased by over 30% year-on-year. Cao Jingjing, General Manager of the Index Research Department of the China Index Research Institute, told reporters that first tier cities have maintained a high level of vitality in the market driven by factors such as increased high-quality supply and strong demand for home purchases. In the first half of the year, the overall sales area of newly-built commercial residential properties in key cities continued to grow year-on-year. Driven by supply reduction and sales recovery, the available inventory of new houses in key cities has generally decreased, and the clearance cycle has been shortened. In the first half of 2025, the demand for improvement will be released. The new housing market in the core cities will continue to maintain a positive momentum under the favorable policies of last year in the first quarter, and although there will be a slight decline in the second quarter, the new housing market in core cities will still maintain strong resilience. From the perspective of new house transaction characteristics, since the beginning of this year, the pace of improvement projects entering the market in core cities has accelerated, driving sustained demand release. High priced projects with improvement needs as the main focus have performed well in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu and other cities. According to the monitoring of key cities by the Zhongzhi Research Institute, from January to May this year, the proportion of newly sold units of 90 square meters to 120 square meters in 30 cities remained at around 40%, and the transaction volume of units of 120 square meters to 144 square meters reached 30% for the first time. The reporter recently visited multiple improvement projects in Shijingshan, Beijing and found that the minimum unit size is generally above 90 square meters, indicating a strong demand for improvement. At the same time, as developers increase their efforts to promote existing properties and homebuyers have higher requirements for delivery deadlines, the sales of existing properties are better than those of pre-sale properties, accounting for 35.6%. According to data from the Zhongzhi Research Institute, from January to May this year, the sales of pre-sale commercial housing reached 230 million square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 10.0%; The sales of existing houses reached 130 million square meters, a year-on-year increase of 13.2%. In terms of proportion, from January to May this year, the sales area of existing houses accounted for 35.6% of the total sales area, an increase of 4.8 percentage points compared to the whole year of 2024. Yan Yuejin, Vice President of Shanghai E-house Real Estate Research Institute, stated in an interview with reporters that the continuous release of demand for improved housing and the increasing proportion of existing housing sales reflect a significant increase in homebuyers' emphasis on living quality and delivery certainty. Improving mid to high end products has become an important force supporting market transactions and has also stabilized market expectations in core cities to a certain extent. With the gradual promotion of the "good house" standard, the market is expected to continue a moderate recovery trend, and the demand for improvement in core cities is expected to continue to "lead" in transactions. The rebound in popularity of core cities and the rebound in sales have also been transmitted to the land market. According to data from the China Index Research Institute, in the first half of the year, residential land transfer fees in 300 cities across the country increased by 24.5% year-on-year, and the average premium rate for land auctions reached 10.3%, an increase of 6.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year. From a regional perspective, the transfer fees of the top 20 cities account for 66% of the national total, and the overall differentiation is still evident. Among them, in first tier cities, real estate companies actively invest and layout, and the launch and transaction area of residential land have both increased year-on-year, with a year-on-year increase of 47% in transfer fees; In terms of second tier cities, many regions continue to increase the supply of high-quality land parcels, and the overall area of land sales remains basically unchanged. The transaction area and land transfer fees have increased by 15.7% and 36.5% respectively, with an average premium rate of 14.3%; Third - and fourth tier cities continue to experience a shrinking trend, with an average premium rate maintained at a relatively low level. Yan Yuejin stated that compared to last year, more cities have seen a premium in land auctions this year, with a significant increase in the number of real estate companies participating in the bidding process and an increase in market activity. Overall, the land market is undergoing a process of structural repair and gradual stabilization. Although differentiation still exists, the signal has become more positive than last year. Chen Wenjing, Director of Policy Research at Zhongzhi Research Institute, told reporters that it is expected that policies in the second half of the year will focus on stabilizing expectations, activating demand, optimizing supply, and resolving risks. In terms of activating demand, on the one hand, we will increase the placement of housing tickets for urban village renovation and promote the release of new housing demand; On the other hand, there is also room for optimization in the restrictive policies of Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, such as optimizing the purchase restrictions for large apartments. There is also room for optimization in optimizing housing provident fund loans and promoting the "old for new" housing policy in various regions. In terms of optimizing supply, we will continue to improve and implement supporting policies for the purchase of idle land and commodity housing through special bonds, accelerate the pace of collection and storage, and improve the market supply and demand relationship. At the same time, policies such as construction standards for "good houses" and standardized capacity calculation rules are expected to be accelerated in various regions, and greater support will be provided in areas such as land and finance. (New Society)