At 11:30 pm on January 25th, the Lianjia Contract Signing Service Center located in the Jinhu Center of Beijing's Tuanjie Lake was brightly lit, and the signing manager Zhang Chao, who had been working continuously for nearly 10 hours, was still orderly handling procedures for homebuyers. This weekend, we clearly felt that the market heat was picking up, with an increase in customer inquiries and contract signings. Zhang Chao's intuitive feeling reflects the gradual increase in real estate activity in some cities after the implementation of recent real estate support policies. According to Lianjia data, after one month of the new policy, the market performance has been relatively positive, and the transaction volume of the second-hand market has significantly increased. One month after the policy adjustment (from December 24, 2025 to January 25, 2026), the transaction volume of Lianjia in Beijing increased by 33% compared to before the policy was introduced (from November 24, 2025 to December 23, 2025); During the same period, market activity significantly increased, with new customer sources and viewership increasing by 14% and 18% respectively. Gao Yuan, president of Beijing Homelink Research Institute, said that the recent intensive introduction of policies has led to an increase in the market prosperity index (the proportion of increase in the housing supply), indicating that the market expectation has improved. In addition, there is a seasonal pattern of natural recovery in the market in the first quarter, coupled with the late Spring Festival this year, multiple factors have jointly driven the recovery of market activity. In fact, not only Beijing, but also Li Gen, the head of Shanghai Lianjia Research Institute, stated that the transaction volume of second-hand houses in Shanghai continued to rise in January. As of January 20th, the transaction volume of second-hand houses in Shanghai Lianjia has increased by 15% month on month, and the transaction price has temporarily stopped the downward trend, indicating a "stop falling" signal. The transaction cycle of new houses and customer sources has shortened compared to last month, and market confidence has gradually recovered and reshaped. The transaction volume has stabilized for several consecutive months, customer confidence has increased, inventory turnover has accelerated, and the listing volume of second-hand houses has gradually decreased for nine consecutive months. The pressure of inventory turnover has decreased, and the supply-demand relationship is becoming more balanced. In addition to first tier cities, there are also signs of recovery in the real estate market in some hot cities. According to data from 58 Anjuke, in the first two weeks of January, the number of times users initiated WeChat (online communication with brokers) increased by 8.6% year-on-year, and the number of users who left their phone for consultation increased by 7.1% year-on-year. The willingness of users to leave their phone continued to increase, especially among key groups such as families with multiple children and new urban residents, whose consultation popularity significantly increased. In addition, the prices of second-hand housing in some regions have experienced a decline. For example, the average price of second-hand housing in Wuhan was 10763 yuan/square meter, an increase of 0.74% month on month, led by Wuhan, Jiangxia, and Dongxihu; The average price of second-hand housing in Dalian is 10835 yuan/square meter, an increase of 1.84% month on month, led by the High tech Zone and Xigang District; The average price of second-hand housing in Qingdao is 11876 yuan/square meter, up 0.51% month on month, led by Huangdao. Regarding the recent recovery of the real estate market in some cities, Zhang Bo, the director of 58 Anjuke Research Institute, stated that although the structural inventory pressure has not been completely relieved, the new and second-hand residential markets will continue to slowly recover under the support of policy support, increased supply of high-quality land, and declining housing costs. The real estate market is steadily adjusting towards a virtuous cycle. Since the end of 2025, the central and local governments have continuously launched measures to stabilize the real estate market, covering multiple dimensions such as credit support, tax incentives, and optimization of housing provident fund, forming a coordinated momentum. The interest rates for first-time home loans in many regions have entered the '2 digits' range, with both housing provident fund loan rates and commercial loan rates reaching historic lows; The policy of individual income tax refund for house replacement has been clearly extended until the end of 2027, effectively alleviating the financial pressure on the improvement oriented group, and there are positive signals in many markets. ”Zhang Bo stated that users are shifting from "browsing" to "action", and the market's wait-and-see sentiment is gradually easing. Buyers' bargaining space is narrowing, and pricing is becoming more rational. The policy efforts are still ongoing. Since the beginning of the year, many regions have introduced intensive optimization measures, forming a policy matrix. On January 26th, Nanjing implemented the "electronic house ticket" city wide redemption, allowing immediate family members to withdraw their housing provident fund to pay for the purchase of the house, and extending the loan term of the housing provident fund for existing houses to 30 years; Guangdong proposes to implement policies to control incremental growth, reduce inventory, and optimize supply by 2026, promote the construction of "four good" urban areas, and promote intelligent construction and prefabricated buildings; Tianjin has raised the maximum limit of housing provident fund loans, with the loan amount for the first home of families with two or more children reaching 1.44 million yuan, and the loan term for second-hand housing extended to 30 years; Xiamen and Shenyang have also optimized policies in terms of provident fund withdrawals, loan quotas, and scope of application, increasing support for the groups of first-time citizens and new residents. Looking ahead, the policy environment is expected to remain relaxed. Cao Jingjing, General Manager of the Index Research Department at the China Index Research Institute, stated that at the policy level, there is still room for adjustment in terms of housing eligibility, housing subsidies, credit support, and other aspects in first tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. It is expected that the subsequent policy environment will remain relaxed and continue to release potential demand for home purchases. In the future, market demand expectations are expected to gradually improve, and it is expected that the new and second-hand housing markets will continue their slow recovery trend, with regional and project differentiation patterns continuing. Gaoyuan believes that policies can increase the potential customer base and purchasing power. Due to the fact that housing transactions belong to long-term high-value transactions, it usually takes more than a quarter for customers to develop interest and engage in actual transactions. Therefore, policy effects are more likely to gradually manifest over a longer period of time. He expects that the market is more likely to show a moderate recovery trend after the holiday. (New Society)