On October 17th, 2023, at 10 AM, the State Council Information Office held a press conference where Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Ni Hong, along with representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Natural Resources, People’s Bank of China, and National Financial Regulatory Administration, presented measures aimed at promoting steady and healthy development in the real estate market.

During the conference, it was highlighted that the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, in collaboration with relevant departments, has instructed local governments to take prompt actions. They are focusing on two key areas: implementing existing policies and introducing new measures to stabilize and revitalize the market.

What does this “combination strategy” entail? In summary, it involves four cancellations, four reductions, and two increases.

**Four Cancellations:**
To empower city governments with the autonomy to regulate, they are encouraged to adopt city-specific strategies to adjust or eliminate various restrictive measures. These include limitations on purchases, sales, pricing, as well as standards for ordinary and non-ordinary residences.

**Four Reductions:**
1. Housing provident fund loan rates have been reduced by 0.25 percentage points.
2. The down payment ratio has been lowered, unifying the minimum down payment for first and second homes to 15%.
3. Interest rates on existing loans have been decreased.
4. The tax burden associated with the “sell old, buy new” housing transactions has been alleviated.

These policies aim to lower home-buying costs for residents, ease repayment pressures, and support both rigid and improved housing needs.

**Two Increases:**
1. The program will add 1 million housing units for the renovation of urban villages and dilapidated houses through monetary relocation and other methods. With many urban villages facing safety hazards and poor living conditions, there is a strong desire for these improvements. Surveys indicate that 170,000 renovation units are pending in just 35 major cities, with a further 500,000 dilapidated units nationwide. For the 1 million units identified as viable for immediate renovation, increased policy support will facilitate quicker action, allowing residents to choose suitable housing without interim living arrangements, thus also helping to absorb the supply of existing commercial housing.

2. By the end of the year, the credit scale for “white list” projects will increase to 4 trillion yuan. The city’s real estate financing coordination mechanism will incorporate all qualifying real estate projects into this “white list,” ensuring that projects receive necessary financing to meet reasonable demands.

Since these policies were announced, their effects are starting to manifest. Key indicators like real estate development investment and new home sales are showing reduced declines, especially since the end of September, when there have been notable increases in viewing volumes, visitor numbers, and sales for newly built homes. The second-hand home market is also witnessing a rise in transaction volumes, signaling positive trends in the market. Reports indicate that many cities are intensifying support for real estate policies, with first-tier cities seeing a widespread market recovery. Moving forward, the Ministry of Housing will work closely with relevant departments to ensure the implementation of the Central Government’s directives, allowing the full potential of these policies to benefit the broader population.

(Reported by CCTV’s Yang Xiao)