According to the Middle Finger Research Institute, the average residential rent in 50 cities in the first quarter of 2025 dropped by 0.44% cumulatively.

The China Index Academy issued a document stating that in the first quarter of 2025, the average rent for residential properties in key cities had a slight cumulative decrease. According to the China Index Academy's residential rental price index for 50 cities, in the first quarter of 2025, the average rent for residential properties in 50 cities cumulatively decreased by 0.44%. Looking at it monthly, in January, as the Spring Festival approached, migrant workers returned home in large numbers, leading to a slight decrease of 0.4% in the average rent for ordinary residential properties in key cities. In February, after the Spring Festival holiday, the "returning to the city" trend drove a noticeable increase in demand for housing rentals in key cities, stabilizing the average rent for ordinary residential properties and showing a slight increase of 0.01% compared to the previous month. In March, after a phased release of rental demand in key cities, the rental market gradually stabilized, with the average rent for residential properties in 50 cities at 35.3 yuan per square meter per month, a slight decrease of 0.05% compared to the previous month and a 3.40% decrease year-on-year. City Rentals: Most cities saw a decline in residential rents in the first quarter, while rents in first-tier cities remained relatively stable. In terms of rent levels, more than 70% of cities in the 50-city index had rents in the range of 20-40 yuan per square meter per month. Specifically, as of March 2025, the rental levels in Beijing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai continued to rank in the top tier, all exceeding 80 yuan per square meter per month; rents in Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Sanya, and Xiamen were between 40-60 yuan per square meter per month; rents in 36 other cities such as Nanjing and Zhuhai were between 20-40 yuan per square meter per month; rents in 7 cities like Nantong and Huizhou were below 20 yuan per square meter per month. In terms of cumulative changes in the first quarter, rents in 44 key cities declined. Specifically, in the first quarter of 2025, rents in Harbin, Urumqi, Shenzhen, Lanzhou, Dongguan, and Shanghai all saw cumulative increases, with increases of less than 0.6%; among cities with cumulative decreases, Wenzhou had the largest decrease at 2.45%; cities like Jiaxing and Hangzhou had cumulative decreases between 1.0%-2.0%; cities like Changsha and Chongqing had cumulative decreases between 0.5%-1.0%; and cities like Nanchang and Suzhou had cumulative decreases below 0.5%. Looking at different tiers, rents in first-tier cities remained relatively stable, while rents in second-tier and third- and fourth-tier representative cities all declined. According to the 50-city residential rental price index, in the first quarter of 2025, rents in first-tier cities remained basically the same compared to the same period last year; rents in second-tier cities cumulatively decreased by 0.70%, an increase of 0.23 percentage points compared to the same period last year; and rents in third- and fourth-tier representative cities cumulatively decreased by 0.46%, a decrease of 0.09 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Rent-to-Income Ratio: rent-to-income ratios in the 50 key cities all fell compared to the same period last year, indicating a decrease in rent burden. The rent-to-income ratios in the 50 cities all decreased compared to the same period last year. According to monitoring data by the China Index Academy, as of March 2025, the average rent-to-income ratio in the 50 key cities was 16.6%, down 1.3 percentage points from the same period last year. Specifically, in more than 80% of the cities, the rent-to-income ratio was below 20%, indicating a reasonable rent burden; cities like Shenzhen, Beijing, Sanya, and Shanghai still had rent-to-income ratios above 30%, indicating a significant rental pressure on residents. Looking at the trend, in March 2025, the rent-to-income ratio in the 50 cities was lower compared to March 2024, with cities like Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Sanya seeing decreases of over 2 percentage points. In the short term, with an overall increase in the supply of housing rental markets, market rents are expected to continue a stable and modest adjustment, easing the rent burden on residents. Return on Investment: the rent-to-price ratio in the 50 cities continued to increase slightly, improving the investment return on housing rentals. The average rent-to-price ratio in the 50 cities is now higher than certain fixed-income products. According to monitoring data by the China Index Academy, as of March 2025, the average rent-to-price ratio in the 50 key cities was 2.15%, higher than the 5-year fixed deposit rate (1.55%) and the 10-year treasury bond yield (1.8209% at the end of March). Specifically, in cities like Xiamen, Shenzhen, and Beijing, where housing prices are high, the rent-to-price ratio is below 1.5%; over 60% of cities have rent-to-price ratios between 1.5% and 2.5%; cities like Guiyang, Harbin, Changsha, and Shenyang have higher rent-to-price ratios, with Guiyang and Harbin already exceeding 3%. In recent times, the rent-to-income ratio in key cities has been steadily increasing, demonstrating the investment value of housing rental assets. In recent years, the housing rental industry has benefited from rigid demand and overall improvements in industry standardization and quality. The adjustments in average rental levels compared to housing prices have been relatively moderate, leading to a slight increase in the rent-to-price ratio in key cities. According to monitoring data by the China Index Academy, as of March 2025, the average rent-to-price ratio in the 50 cities increased by 0.09 percentage points compared to the same period last year, and by 0.17 percentage points from the low point in early 2023. With the rising rent-to-sale ratio and the decrease in financing and operating costs, the commercial sustainability of the housing rental industry continues to strengthen, gradually revealing the investment value of housing rental assets. Performance of Large-scale Rental Apartment Companies 1. Ranking by Business Scale: The threshold for entry into the TOP30 has increased to nearly 15,000 units, with significant growth in the scale of local SOE housing sources. According to the China Index Institute, as of the end of the first quarter of 2025, the cumulative volume of opened housing units for the TOP30 centralized long-term rental apartment companies reached 1.319 million units, an increase of 159,000 units from the end of 2024. By the end of the first quarter, the threshold for entry into the TOP30 ranking by business scale was 14,847 units, an increase of 1,188 units from the end of the previous quarter. Among them, the TOP 5 companies had a cumulative business scale of 558,000 units, an increase of 7,000 units from the end of the previous quarter, accounting for 42.3% of the total scale of the TOP30. In terms of management scale, among the TOP30 companies, there were 11 real estate companies, 9 local SOEs, 5 startups, 3 hotel companies, 1 intermediary company, and 1 financial company. The number of local SOEs increased by 2 compared to the end of the previous quarter, with companies like Anjuke and Huizhou Coming Home entering the list. Looking at changes in business scale, various local SOEs have gradually entered the market by converting existing commercial properties into rental housing, while the entry of new companies has driven significant growth in the scale of local SOE housing sources, which is expected to further expand in the future.The cumulative number of managed properties has reached 1.884 million as of P30.According to statistics from the China Index Research Institute, as of the end of the first quarter of 2025, the total managed housing inventory of the top 30 centralized long-term rental apartment companies reached 1.884 million units, an increase of 64,000 units compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. By the end of the first quarter, the threshold for entry into the top 30 in terms of management scale was set at 21,071 units, an increase of 1,071 units compared to the end of the previous quarter. Among them, the cumulative management scale of the top 5 companies was 806,000 units, an increase of 6,000 units compared to the end of the previous quarter, accounting for 42.8% of the total scale of the top 30. In terms of classification, among the top 30 enterprises in terms of management scale, there are 11 real estate enterprise-connected companies, 9 local state-owned enterprise-connected companies, 6 startup-connected companies, 3 hotel-connected companies, and 1 intermediary-connected enterprise. Among them, the number of local state-owned enterprise-connected companies increased by 1 compared to the end of the previous quarter, with Anjuke entering the list. In terms of changes in management scale, the local state-owned enterprise-connected companies increased by 53,000 units, while the real estate enterprise-connected companies, startup-connected companies, and hotel-connected companies increased by 1,000 units, 4,000 units, and 6,000 units respectively.