In Wuxi, west of Shanghai, buyers are swapping old homes for new developments. In Guangzhou, southern China, and Beijing, the capital, first-time buyers are taking advantage of falling prices to snap up second-hand homes. Yet in north-western Shaanxi province, salespeople are facing pay cuts because properties are not selling.

After more than three years of crisis, there are some signs of life in China’s property market. Sales picked up in October for the first time this year after policymakers launched their biggest monetary stimulus since the pandemic. Beijing is preparing to launch the next phase of its stimulus this week.

Buyers, cheered by signals of government spending, are starting to return. At Jingyue Mansion, a development on the outskirts of Shanghai, 188 new apartments, the first phase of sales, sold out in late October. “They relaxed [policies], and now we can buy,” said one buyer surnamed Chen in the gleaming showroom, referring to restrictions imposed in recent years to tame runaway prices.