The equity sales volume of typical real estate enterprises increased by 11% month-on-month in May.

In May 2026, multiple central ministries and commissions continued to promote urban development work, covering aspects such as the issuance of urban renewal tasks, urban physical examinations, financial support, and the provision of basic public services at the place of habitual residence. As of the time of writing, local governments issued new policies to stabilize the market 58 times.

Supported by policies and the overall market recovery trend, the transaction area of newly-built commercial residential buildings in 50 key cities across the country in May was approximately 13.62 million square meters, a slight month-on-month increase of 2%. It decreased slightly by 2% year-on-year, and the scale was on par with that in March's "mini spring". The overall situation stabilized at the monthly average level since last year, and the market maintained the popularity and transaction momentum since March and April.

Typical real estate enterprises also achieved a single-month sales equity amount of 227.3 billion yuan, a month-on-month increase of 11%, significantly exceeding the month-on-month increase in the transaction area of newly-built commercial residential buildings in 50 key cities across the country.

Considering that many hot land parcels in multiple cities have achieved high premiums recently, market confidence is continuously being restored.

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In May 2026, with the overall market maintaining the "mini spring" popularity from March to April, typical real estate enterprises achieved a single-month sales equity amount of 227.3 billion yuan, a month-on-month increase of 11% and a slight year-on-year decrease of 1.88%.

Accumulatively, from January to May 2026, the cumulative sales equity amount reached 858.18 billion yuan, still at a low level in recent years.

Judging from the distribution of enterprises' equity sales volume, from January to May 2026, there were 20 enterprises with a sales scale of over 10 billion yuan, 12 enterprises with a sales scale of 5 to 10 billion yuan, 26 enterprises with a sales scale of 3 to 5 billion yuan, and 42 enterprises with a sales scale of 1 to 3 billion yuan.

The leading real estate enterprises still maintained a relatively stable sales scale. At the same time, enterprises such as China Construction Dongfu, China Construction Yipin, China Construction Jiuhe of the China Construction System, as well as private real estate enterprises like Bangtai Group and Xinghe Real Estate, emerged.

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Continuing the market trend in April, the structural differentiation of the real estate market in May 2026 continued. The popularity of improved luxury houses in the core areas of key cities remained high, and high-end and scarce housing sources were quickly sold out, continuously leading the market: On May 20th, Binjiang Wangtianji in Hangzhou started capital verification, with a maximum capital verification of 80 million yuan, refreshing the capital verification record in the Hangzhou real estate market. There were over 300 groups of potential customers, making it a benchmark for the popularity of the top luxury housing market. On May 17th, Poly Xingchen Tianyi in Changsha had its first opening, with a single-day sales of 500 million yuan, and the main units were sold out within a few hours. Relying on its prime location in the city center, Longhu Tianjing in Kunming received an average of over 100 groups of customers per day during the May Day holiday. The small apartments with a high floor area ratio were in high demand, and the market recognition remained high.

Meanwhile, the cost-effective just-needed and improved housing projects in the suburbs maintained a stable sales performance relying on mature supporting facilities and price advantages: Shanghai Merchants Linyu Lakefront topped the regional sales list in the third week of May, with 72 units sold in a single week and a total transaction amount of 479 million yuan. The project's products with a high floor area ratio met the needs of just-needed and just-improved families, and there was an abundant source of customers. Wuhan Merchants - Wuhan Urban Construction Future Center - Yuefu had a total of 198 units signed online in May, ranking first in the city's sales. Relying on its affordable pricing and complete living facilities, it firmly locked in the just-needed and just-improved customer groups.

Overall, the dual-track development characteristics of the real estate market are becoming more obvious. The popularity of luxury properties in core locations remains high, and the sales of just-needed and just-improved housing projects in the suburbs are stable. Location, brand, and product cost-effectiveness are still the core factors for the hot sales of projects, and the sales gap between properties in different locations continues to widen.

Driven by these hot projects, in May 2026, the transaction area of newly-built commercial residential buildings in 50 key cities across the country was approximately 13.62 million square meters, a slight month-on-month increase of 2% and a slight year-on-year decrease of 2%. The scale was on par with that in March's "mini spring". The overall situation stabilized at the monthly average level since last year, and the market maintained the popularity and transaction momentum since March and April.

Looking at the performance of cities at different levels, the transaction area in 4 first-tier cities was approximately 2.15 million square meters, a month-on-month increase of 11%. The year-on-year increase expanded by 5 percentage points to 6% compared with the previous month. The cumulative transaction area was 8.09 million square meters, and the cumulative year-on-year decline continued to narrow by 6 percentage points to 12%. The transaction area in second-tier cities was approximately 7.6 million square meters, a slight month-on-month decrease of 3%. The transaction area in 23 third - and fourth-tier cities was approximately 3.88 million square meters, a month-on-month increase of 7% and a year-on-year increase of 8%.

Different from previous years when the "mini spring" popularity was concentrated in March and April, core cities were active in May this year, and the market popularity remained high without an obvious decline.

In some cities, the popularity of the second-hand housing market even spread from individual points to the whole area, and gradually drove the new housing market.

It can be seen that the current real estate market is still in the process of continuous recovery, and market confidence is gradually being restored. 2026 is a critical period for confirming the bottom of the industry.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Ding Zuyu's Review of the Real Estate Market". Author: Editorial Department. Republished by 36Kr with permission.