According to the China Index Academy, in April, the housing rental industry entered the off-season, with a decline in rental demand. The average residential rent in key cities slightly decreased, with the average rent in 50 cities at 35.2 yuan/square meter/month, a month-on-month decrease of 0.32% and a year-on-year decrease of 3.40%. In terms of scale ranking, the threshold for the TOP 30 companies to enter the list remains at 14,847 units; the total managed housing units reached 1.897 million.
According to statistics from the China Index Academy, by April 2025, the total number of opened housing units for the TOP 30 centralized long-term rental apartment companies reached 1.328 million, an increase of approximately 9,000 units compared to March.
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In terms of classification, among the TOP 30 companies on the opening list, there are 11 housing rental companies, 9 local state-owned enterprises, 5 entrepreneurial companies, 3 hotel-related companies, 1 intermediary company, and 1 financial company. The number of opened units for housing companies, local state-owned enterprises, and hotel-related companies increased by 4,000, 4,200, and 500 units respectively compared to last month.
Table: Statistics of the number of opened housing rental companies among the TOP 30
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Management Scale Ranking: The total number of managed housing units for the TOP 30 companies increased to 1.897 million
According to statistics from the China Index Academy, by April 2025, the total number of managed housing units for the TOP 30 centralized long-term rental apartment companies reached 1.897 million, an increase of approximately 13,000 units compared to March.
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In terms of classification, among the TOP 30 management ranking, there are 11 housing rental companies, 9 local state-owned enterprises, 6 entrepreneurial companies, 3 hotel-related companies, and 1 intermediary company, with Anju Leju newly listed. Compared to March, the management scale of housing companies, entrepreneurial companies, and hotel-related companies increased by 11,100 units, 1,200 units, and 1,000 units respectively.
Table: Statistics of the management scale of various housing rental companies among the TOP 30
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<h2>Financing Trends</h2>
In April, financing for housing rentals continued to progress steadily.
Regarding the initial public offering of rental housing REITs, after the approval of the Huatai Zijin Suzhou Hengtai rental housing REIT at the end of March, the REIT underwent pricing and issuance processes, and the fund contract officially took effect on April 25
Ningbo Urban Construction Investment's public rental housing REIT has new progress, with China International Capital Corporation (CICC) and CICC Fund pre-bidding to become the REIT manager. Beichen Group has reached strategic cooperation with multiple parties, planning to prepare REITs business based on real estate assets under Beichen Real Estate. In terms of private REITs, Guojin Asset Management - Guanbo Qicheng's holding-type real estate ABS project has been accepted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with a proposed issuance amount of 499 million yuan; NHPIGCL plans to carry out a special plan for holding-type real estate asset support for rental housing, with the underlying asset being the NHPIGCL·Dream City Meilong Community project, with a total property construction area of approximately 77,000 square meters.
Regarding the expansion of rental housing REITs, CICC Xiamen Anju REIT has officially submitted an application for expansion, with the expanded funds intended to invest in the Linbian Apartment project in Siming District and the Renhe Apartment project in Huli District, totaling 2,689 rental housing units.
In addition, Shoucheng Holdings has jointly established a 10 billion public REITs special investment fund with several insurance capital institutions, with a target fund size of 10 billion yuan and an initial scale exceeding 5 billion yuan, making it the largest single public REITs special investment fund in the market currently.
In April, credit support such as re-loans for affordable housing continues to be implemented, with loans approved for stock commercial housing projects converted into rental housing in places like Wuzhou City, Guangxi, and Gui'an New Area, Guizhou.
<h2>Market Operation</h2>
1. Overall Rent: In April, the average residential rent in 50 cities fell by 0.32% month-on-month and 3.40% year-on-year
In April 2025, the housing rental industry entered the off-season, with rental demand declining and average residential rents in key cities slightly decreasing. According to the China Index 50 City Residential Rental Price Index, in April, the average residential rent in 50 cities nationwide was 35.2 yuan/square meter/month, a month-on-month decrease of 0.32%, widening the decline by 0.27 percentage points compared to March; year-on-year, it fell by 3.40%, with the decline remaining the same as in March.
Figure: Average residential rent in 50 cities from July 2021 to April 2025 and month-on-month fluctuations
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2. Key City Rents: Only 2 cities in the 50 saw a month-on-month increase in average residential rent, a significant decrease in number
In April 2025, the housing rental industry entered the off-season, and the number of cities with rising rents significantly decreased. The number of cities with a month-on-month increase in average residential rent was 2, down by 10 from March. Specifically, Jiaxing and Shijiazhuang both had month-on-month increases of less than 0.1%.
In April 2025, no cities had average residential rents remaining flat month-on-month, a decrease of 1 compared to March.
In April 2025, the number of cities with a month-on-month decrease in average residential rent was 48, an increase of 11 from March. Specifically, Sanya had the largest month-on-month decline at 1.10%; Wenzhou, Wuhan, and 13 other cities had month-on-month declines between 0.5% (inclusive) and 1.0%; Xiamen, Zhengzhou, and 16 other cities had month-on-month declines between 0.3% and 0.5%; Nanning, Xi'an, and 13 other cities had declines between 0.1% and 0.3%; Tianjin, Jinan, and 5 other cities had declines of less than 0.1%
Figure: Average residential rent and month-on-month changes in 50 cities in April 2025
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The China Index Academy released a report stating that in April, housing rental demand declined, with average residential rents in key cities experiencing a slight decrease. The total number of managed housing units by the top 30 companies increased to 1.897 million. The threshold for entering the list remains at 14,847 units, rental financing is steadily advancing, and the first issuance of REITs has been approved

Zhitong

NHPIGCL

SHOUCHENG

CICC

China Index Academy: In April, housing rental demand declined, and the total managed housing units of the TOP 30 enterprises increased to 1.897 million