Among the second tier cities that have seen surging land leasing prices is Nanjing, a city near Shanghai. The rising land auction prices may translate into higher home prices going forward. 

In terms of home sales, we are already seeing more evidence of a rebound in the property market. The southern coastal city Xiamen saw home inventories hit a three year low in April. 

Hangzhou, also near Shanghai, sold 22,000 housing units in April. That was after 28,000 homes were sold there in March. March’s sales reached a record high, doubling the previous mark of 14,000 units.

Overall, almost 40 percent more homes in terms of area were sold in China between January and April, compared with a year ago. That growth was 3.4 percent faster than in the first quarter, and 30 percentage points higher than 2015. In terms of sales revenues, the number surged more than 50 percent between January and April.