China's housing market showed tentative signs of steadying, with combined new- and existing-home sales across 30 major cities totaling 274 million square meters in the first 10 months of the year, roughly flat from a year earlier, data from research firm CRIC showed.

Shenzhen led the improvement with a 12% rise in transacted floor area. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou posted gains of 7%, 6% and 2% respectively.

Second-tier cities also showed resilience. Hefei logged an 18% increase — the strongest among the 30 cities — while Chengdu rose 11% to 26.3 million square meters. Chongqing, Xi'an, Wuhan and Hangzhou all exceeded 10 million square meters and recorded year-on-year growth, helping underpin the broader market.