Zhongzhi Research Institute: In March, residential rents in 50 cities stabilized and began to rise again, as first-tier cities collectively increased

According to the 50-city residential rental price index released by the China Index Academy, the housing rental market in China has shown a phased improvement over the past two months, with the average rent in 50 cities decreasing by 0.11% month-on-month in February, narrowing the decline by 0.34 percentage points compared to January, indicating a significant slowdown in the downward trend of rents; in March, the market showed further signs of recovery, with the average rent in 50 cities increasing by 0.09% month-on-month, reaching a high level not seen in nearly 24 months, and market activity significantly increasing.
Looking at different tiers, rental performance varies among cities of different levels, with first-tier cities becoming the core force driving the rental recovery in 50 cities. According to monitoring by the China Index Academy, the average residential rent in first-tier cities in March was 73.21 yuan per square meter per month, up 0.34% month-on-month, while rents in second-tier and third/fourth-tier representative cities decreased by 0.04% and 0.06%, respectively.
In terms of key cities, core cities with large net population inflows and strong industrial support capabilities experienced more prominent rent increases, with first-tier cities collectively seeing rent rises. Among them, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Shanghai saw month-on-month rent increases of about 0.4% in March, ranking among the top three in the 50 cities.