Recently, the phenomenon of “near-new homes” in the Chinese real estate market has attracted attention. In Xi’an, a batch of residential projects were delivered just a few months ago, and homeowners have started reducing prices and reselling their properties at prices significantly lower than the purchase price.
According to a report from the mainland’s “China Real Estate Network,” a 128-square-meter home in the Yanta District of Xi’an, part of the “Yan Nan Lang Jing” development, was resold approximately 4 months after the developer handed over the property, with a total price of about 1.83 million yuan, at a transaction price of around 14,000 yuan per square meter. Previously, the new home price for this property was around 19,700 yuan per square meter, with an average transaction price of about 16,000 yuan per square meter.
This property falls under the category of “near-new homes,” with the resale price significantly lower than the initial new home price. A second-hand real estate agent believes that the sale of this property sets a benchmark price for future second-hand properties in the neighborhood.
A prospective homebuyer in the community also expressed concern, saying, “The second-phase new homes and the first-phase near-new homes have similar sizes, but the price difference is as much as 2,000 yuan per square meter. I’m not sure whether to buy a new home now or wait for further price drops in the near-new homes.”
In Xi’an, the phenomenon of near-new homes is not uncommon. In Nanhai Highcore Yuelan, a property with a building area of approximately 178 square meters, which was sold for nearly 20,000 yuan per square meter in 2022, was resold in less than four years at around 12,665 yuan per square meter.
“Near-new homes” refer to second-hand homes or vacant homes with a construction age of less than 5 years, combining characteristics of newly built properties and ordinary second-hand homes. The prices of near-new homes are generally lower than new homes in the same area, offering a living experience close to that of a new home.
Near-new homes are becoming increasingly common in the Chinese second-hand housing market. According to the “Securities Times,” in 2024, the neighborhoods with the highest transaction volumes for second-hand homes in various districts of Shenzhen were mostly near-new home communities.
Many near-new home communities that opened in recent years have already experienced certain price cuts, with the appeal of price “inversion” being a major factor. According to monitoring by the Shell Research Institute in Shenzhen, after 2025, some property buyers who initially intended to purchase new homes turned to near-new homes instead.
Predictions about the future price trends of near-new homes compared to regular second-hand homes often suggest that near-new homes may have more stable prices because of their superior quality, layout, and facilities. On the other hand, the prices of regular second-hand homes, especially old ones, are more influenced by factors like location and quality, potentially facing greater adjustment space.
However, the overall outlook for the entire second-hand housing market is not optimistic. On November 30, “Finance Express” reported that the latest data showed that under the pressure of high listing volumes and pessimistic expectations, the price decline of second-hand homes in 100 cities in November worsened, with a monthly decline of 0.94%, reaching a new low. Among them, the month-on-month price declines of second-hand homes in first-tier, second-tier, and third-fourth-tier cities in November were 1.15%, 0.98%, and 0.81% respectively, with annual declines of 5.62%, 8.24%, and 7.47% respectively.