China eases property measures

China has rolled out another round of property support, coupling national financing and sales measures with fresh easing in top-tier cities as officials try to steady a sector that has weighed on growth. A package published on August 28 covered commercial housing sales and property financing, and state media said the aim was to accelerate a new development model for real estate rather than revive the old one. (steelorbis.com) August data and on-the-ground reports suggest the first response has been strongest in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Viewings and buyer enquiries rose after policy changes including looser purchase requirements, higher housing provident-fund loan limits and an extension of maximum mortgage terms from 30 years to 40 years. (news.10jqka.com.cn) ### What exactly did Beijing change? August 28 brought a joint notice from the housing ministry, natural resources ministry and the financial regulator on improving commercial housing sales rules, while the People’s Bank of China and the financial regulator issued separate credit-management guidance, according to China Securities Journal and China Daily reports carried by official and financial news sites. (english.shanghai.gov.cn) The measures included steps on presale management, an orderly push for completed-home sales, and the extension of maximum personal mortgage terms to 40 years. September 2 reporting on the Shanghai government’s English-language site said industry experts viewed the package as part of reforms to real estate development, financing and sales systems. (news.10jqka.com.cn) That framing matters because officials have repeatedly described support as a restructuring effort, not a return to the debt-fueled expansion that defined the previous cycle. ### Which city measures are buyers responding to? Beijing on August 7 reduced the social-security or income-tax payment requirement for non-Beijing households buying commercial housing inside the Fifth Ring Road from two years to one year, China Securities Journal reported. (english.shanghai.gov.cn) The city also raised provident-fund loan limits. Shanghai on August 20 introduced the so-called “Shanghai eight measures,” targeting provident-fund optimization, credit adjustments and home-buying subsidies, according to the same report. Shenzhen agents cited the late-August national mortgage changes as a new talking point for first-time and upgrade buyers. (english.shanghai.gov.cn) ### Are prices actually rising again? Average new-home prices in 100 major Chinese cities were 17,255 yuan per square meter in August, up 0.15% month on month and 2.04% year on year, SteelOrbis reported, citing a major Chinese property research organization. The report said the monthly increase reflected the launch of higher-quality residential projects in some key cities. (news.10jqka.com.cn) Those figures point to stabilization rather than a broad rebound. The August increase was small, and the available reporting tied most of the firmer demand to major cities and to specific projects rather than to a nationwide surge. (news.10jqka.com.cn) ### What are agents and local data showing? Beijing agents told China Securities Journal that buyer willingness improved after the August 7 policy changes, with stronger demand in both first-home and upgrade segments. The report cited Beijing housing data showing August new-home online signings of about 3,100 units, up 10.3% year on year, and second-hand housing signings of about 13,700 units, up 4.1%. (steelorbis.com) Shanghai recorded 1,248 second-hand home online signings on August 29 and 1,042 on August 30, the report said, marking another weekend with more than 1,000 signings on both days. Shanghai authorities also reported combined August sales of new and existing homes at 2.21 million square meters, or 24,300 units, up 2% from July and 15% from a year earlier. (news.10jqka.com.cn) Shenzhen posted 6,864 combined transactions in new and second-hand homes in August, up 8.5% from a year earlier, including 2,589 new-home sales, up 20.4%, according to the same report. Agents there said the 40-year mortgage option had prompted more calls and showings from both first-home and upgrading households. (news.10jqka.com.cn) ### What comes next in the market? September is the start of the traditional “golden September, silver October” selling season in China’s housing market. Securities Times, cited by 10jqka, said cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Xi’an had introduced dense rounds of easing and that the next one to two months are typically when policy effects show up in transaction volumes. (news.10jqka.com.cn) The next test will be whether September and October sales data in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen sustain the pickup in enquiries and weekend signings, and whether developers bring enough new projects to market to capture that demand. (news.10jqka.com.cn 1) (news.10jqka.com.cn 2)