Residents attend the 2025 Chongqing Autumn Property Fair. (Photo/Chongqing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development)
Chongqing - The 2025 Chongqing Autumn Real Estate and Home Exhibition & Trade Fair (2025 Autumn Property Fair) concluded its four-day offline exhibition on September 22, showing positive signs of market recovery.
The Chongqing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development reported that commercial housing transactions in the city’s central districts reached 83,000 square meters during the event, marking a 2.2% increase from the Spring fair.
The Autumn Property Fair, aligning with the traditional sales peak in September and October, saw strong performance due to the demand for "quality housing" projects. The Chongqing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development reported that 25 projects in central districts had an average absorption rate of over 50%, with some core-area projects exceeding 90%.
Over half of this year's exhibitors showcased fourth-generation residential projects, which are modern developments that integrate high-rise living with garden spaces, focusing on enhanced quality of life and sustainability for residents.
"This year, visitors are paying more attention to layout, construction standards, and community facilities rather than just price," said a sales representative. Young buyers born in the 1990s and 2000s have emerged with a rising purchasing power, willing to take on leverage for long-term living quality.
Li Shaohua, a white-collar worker born after 1995, plans to purchase a fourth-generation residence as his wedding home. Unlike traditional high-rises, these developments incorporate garden spaces. While the price is higher, he believes the investment is worthwhile for the combined benefits of a home and garden, as well as future family needs like child-friendly spaces and proximity to quality schools.
Resilient secondary market and rentals
A healthy property market requires a strong secondary market for support. This year's Autumn Property Fair introduced a combined model of "quality housing, rigid-demand products, and rental housing," generally laying a multi-level housing supply system.
According to data from the Chongqing branch of Beike Research Institute, from January to August this year, the number of viewings of second-hand homes in the city's central districts rose 22.7% year-on-year, while transactions climbed 30%.
Analysts attributed the boom to the continuation of Chongqing's "sell old, buy new" subsidy policy, which grants a subsidy equal to 1% of the new home’s total price for homeowners in the central districts who sell their old property and purchase a new one within a year. For homes larger than 140 square meters, an additional 0.5% subsidy is provided.
Meanwhile, the rental market is also showing momentum. With China's Regulation on Housing Leasing coming into effect on September 15, transparency and compliance have improved. This year's fair showcased 2,200 rental units across diverse price ranges and layouts. Daily rental transactions on the Beike platform in Chongqing have climbed 26.8% year-on-year since September.
"Renters now prioritize authentic listings, stable pricing, and standardized contracts," said Zhang Yue, a leasing exhibitor. Young tenants, in particular, are keen to avoid partitioned rooms and misleading promotions, preferring long-term, worry-free rental options.
According to Liu Guiwen, Vice President of Chongqing University, the new regulation not only enhances tenant protection but also safeguards landlords' rights, creating a transparent market.
With Chongqing's "33618" modern manufacturing cluster system advancing and more people moving into the city, stable rental demand is expected to keep rising. "Renting before buying and gradually upgrading will become an increasingly clear path for housing consumption," Liu said.
Promising market outlook
Data from the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development showed that the city's housing market in central districts has already stabilized, with both sales volume and prices rebounding.
From January to August, transaction area in the central districts rose 2.2% year-on-year, marking 11 consecutive months of growth. Industry experts believe the recovery will continue through October.
As China's largest city by area and population, with 32 million residents and an urbanization rate of 72%, Chongqing's property market is shifting from quantity expansion to quality improvement. About 30% of urban housing was built before 2000, leaving ample room for upgrades, analysts noted.
According to a representative from the commission, Chongqing's property market is at a critical stage of shifting from quantity expansion to quality improvement. In the short term, it is strongly supported by policies; in the medium term, it has vast potential for urban renewal; and in the long term, industrial growth and urbanization will bring demographic dividends, making the market outlook promising.