China News Service, January 31 (China News Finance Reporter Zuo Yukun) On January 30, the adjustments to housing purchase restriction policies in two hotspot cities attracted attention.
First, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, known as the "strongest prefecture-level city", completely canceled purchase restrictions and no longer restricted the number of houses purchased. Later, Shanghai also officially announced that starting from January 31, it would support the purchase of houses by single people who are not registered in the city.
Active adjustments to restrictive policies such as purchase restrictions and sales restrictions are an important tool for current real estate regulation. Under the guidance of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development’s statement that it “gives cities full autonomy in real estate regulation and control, and cities can adjust real estate policies according to local conditions,” what room for optimization of future policies is there?
Under the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Lujiazui, the city flower of Shanghai, the white magnolia, blooms proudly. Photo by China News Service reporter Zhang Hengwei
Shanghai supports singles who are not registered in the city to buy houses
In the past, the rule that "singles without Shanghai registered residence cannot buy a house" could be regarded as a feature of Shanghai's housing purchase restriction policy. However, since last year, Shanghai has made gradual adjustments to it.
According to the "Shanghai Housing and Urban-Rural Construction Management" WeChat public account, on January 30, the Shanghai Housing and Urban-Rural Development Management Committee and the Municipal Housing Administration jointly issued the "Notice on Optimizing the City's Housing Purchase Restriction Policy", which stipulates that starting from January 31 Starting from 2020, non-local residents who have paid social insurance or personal income tax in this city continuously for 5 years or more can purchase only one house in areas outside the outer ring (except Chongming District) to better meet the reasonable housing needs of residents. Promote regional job-housing balance and industry-city integration.
"Previously, single people who did not have a household registration in this city had to meet the '5-year social security + married' condition to purchase a house. But now the 'married' condition has been cancelled, which means that the purchase restriction for single people without a household registration in this city has been cancelled." Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Yan Yuejin, research director of the institute, pointed out that this is based on the new situation and new requirements of the real estate market. The overly strict policies during the overheating period have been adjusted and optimized to support the purchase and housing needs of single people with stable employment in Shanghai who are not registered in the city.
Looking back to the past, Jinshan District, a suburb of Shanghai, took the lead in liberalizing the purchase restriction policy for singles from out of town. In October 2023, Jinshan District issued a new policy for talent settlement, which also stipulates that single non-Shanghai talents who meet the requirements can purchase houses in specific areas. In mid-January, Shanghai's Fengxian District and Qingpu District once again adjusted the much-anticipated single purchase restriction policy. Qualified non-Shanghai talents can purchase a house in specific areas of the two districts.
However, according to data from the China Index Research Institute, judging from the policy effects of Qingpu District and Fengxian District, there has been no significant rebound in new home transaction volume. Due to the reduced supply of commercial housing (excluding affordable housing) in Shanghai, the transaction area (data as of January 29) fell by 57% year-on-year and 46% month-on-month.
Looking at the scope drawn by this new policy, in 2023, the transaction area and supply area of commercial housing (excluding affordable housing) outside the outer ring will account for about 70% of the city, the transaction value will account for 52.3% of the city, and the short-term inventory area will account for 81.5% of the city. The area outside the outer ring covers some popular areas including Tangzhen, Huacao, Sijing and so on.
"This time Shanghai has optimized the purchase restriction policy to support single people (who meet 5 years of social security or personal tax) to buy houses in Shanghai, which will help release more demand for house purchases and accelerate the sales of new and second-hand houses outside the outer ring road (except Chongming District) Inventory reduction has a positive guiding effect on market expectations." said Zhang Wenjing, general manager of Shanghai Data at the China Index Research Institute.
Suzhou completely lifts purchase restrictions
Earlier on the same day, news came to the market that Suzhou had completely lifted purchase restrictions and that house purchases were no longer limited to area and number of units, which was later confirmed by relevant departments. According to reports from The Paper, Beijing News and other media, staff from the Suzhou Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau stated that there is no home purchase qualification review for new and second-hand homes, and the sales restriction policy for new homes remains for two years.
Suzhou's adjustments to real estate policies such as purchase restrictions have also gone through several stages. In September 2023, Suzhou has proposed that "there will no longer be a home purchase qualification review for the purchase of commercial housing of 120 square meters and above". At the same time, it has implemented the reduction of the down payment ratio and the loan interest rate for the first and second homes, and the individual first home. Policies such as "recognize a house but not a loan"; in December 2023, Suzhou also implemented a strong house purchase deed tax subsidy policy.
Data from the China Index Research Institute shows that in 2023, the supply of new houses in Suzhou urban area will be 5.154 million square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 1.36%, and the transaction area will be 5.895 million square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 20.57%. Xiangcheng District and Industrial Park will be the main new additions, with Xiangcheng District, Wu The Central District leads in transaction volume. Since most of the new properties entering the market are improvement projects, the average sales price has shown a structural increase.
"Suzhou is an industrialized city with a large proportion of migrant population. Fully liberalizing purchase restrictions will help reduce inventory, increase the activity of the local market, and promote the stable and healthy development of the local property market." Wang Xiaoqiang, chief analyst at Zhuge Data Research Center, pointed out.
Jin Ke, a senior analyst at the Suzhou Branch of the China Index Research Institute, also mentioned that the introduction of the policy is close to the Spring Festival holiday and the large flow of people may drive the enthusiasm for property viewing in the property market and lay the foundation for real estate development in the new year.
Data map: The Beisi Pagoda near the ancient city of Suzhou echoes the modern buildings in the distance. Photo by Yang Bo
How will the property market policy be adjusted?
The adjustments made by the two hot cities on the same day can be easily linked to the optimization of Guangzhou’s purchase restriction policy a few days ago: On January 27, Guangzhou issued a document stating that within the purchase restriction area, the purchase of a building area of more than 120 square meters (excluding 120 Square meters) housing is not included in the scope of purchase restrictions.
Just one day before Guangzhou’s policy adjustment, on January 26, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development proposed that we should adhere to city-specific policies, precise policies, and one policy for one city, make good use of the policy toolbox, and fully empower cities with autonomy in real estate regulation. Each city can Adjust real estate policies according to local conditions.
“The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development’s statement means that the power of regulation will be given to local governments, and the responsibility for stabilizing industries and markets will also be given to local governments, consolidating the responsibilities of local entities, realizing the parity of powers and responsibilities, improving the speed of policy response, and better maintaining market stability. . Whether it is the New Deal in Guangzhou on January 27 or the New Deal in Suzhou and Shanghai, they were all produced under this background." Li Yujia, chief researcher of the Housing Policy Research Center of the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Urban and Rural Planning, believes.
Hot-spot cities have accelerated the pace of relaxation, but still adhere to the logic of small steps and fast running. Li Yujia believes that logically other first-tier cities will follow suit, but their policies may be slightly cautious. The next step is to first narrow the scope of purchase restrictions. For example, after purchasing restrictions in peripheral areas, we will consider how to adjust the purchase restriction policy in the central area, but it is not expected to be absent. (over)