Rents in Shanghai and Shenzhen are rising; job-seeking graduates can stay for free in Shenzhen for 15 days.

Driven by graduation season and the demand from family-type tenants for rental changes, rental prices in Shanghai and Shenzhen have seen an increase in recent months. Since March of this year, residential rental prices in Shanghai have risen for five consecutive months. Industry insiders have noted that the recent rise in both volume and price in the Shanghai rental market is primarily due to the concentrated release of demand during the graduation and accompanying study season; additionally, it is also driven by the stabilization of the second-hand housing market. In July, the transaction volume of second-hand homes in Shanghai was approximately 23,000 units, representing a year-on-year increase of 19%, setting a new high for the same period in five years. The rental market transaction volume in Shenzhen in July also reached a new high for the same period since 2019. To attract more university graduates to work in Shenzhen, the city has offered talent settlement subsidies, including 15 consecutive days of free accommodation for job-seeking graduates. At the same time, many residential zones and housing service companies have implemented policies allowing free accommodation during the internship period. These multiple measures have effectively reduced the living costs for young talents in their initial phase of settling in Shenzhen, further driving up rental demand. Research institutions have reported that in July, the rental transaction volume in Shenzhen increased by 19.6% month-on-month, with market activity levels surpassing those of the same period last year, resulting in a year-on-year increase of 2%.