(ECNS) -- China's housing rental market entered a seasonal upswing in June 2026, driven mainly by the graduation season and the job-seeking that comes with it.
Data from the China Index Academy showed the average monthly rent across 50 major cities was 33.97 yuan per square meter in June, up 0.08% month on month, ending two straight months of slight declines.
Rents were down 2.82% year on year, with the decline narrowing by 0.35 percentage points from May.
Cao Jingjing, general manager of the index research department at the China Index Academy, said rents in key cities have stabilized after years of price adjustments, strengthening the resilience of the market's recovery.
The rebound was most pronounced in Tier 1 cities, where average residential rents rose 0.38% month on month, an acceleration of 0.22 percentage points from May.
Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen have now posted four consecutive months of rent increases. Analysts attribute this to strong demand from new graduates and a rebound in resale home prices, which have risen month on month for three straight months in these cities.
By contrast, the rent decline in Tier 2 cities narrowed to 0.07% month on month, while Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities improved to a 0.10% drop. So far this year, average rents across the 50 cities have fallen just 0.56%, far less than the drop over the same period last year.
Notably, eight cities, including Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing, recorded net rent gains in the first half of 2026, led by Shanghai at 1.76%.
Research manager Cheng Wei said the rising rent-to-price ratio, which climbed to 2.28% across the 50 cities from an early-2023 low of 1.98%, points to improving value in rental assets.
Looking ahead, Cao Jingjing forecast that the market would keep recovering in July as graduation-season demand is released, with core cities leading the rebound while other regions continue to face structural pressures.
(By intern Lin Qiaochu)
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