(Economic Observer) The “trade-in” of housing must settle “three accounts”

　　China News Service, Beijing, April 8th: Title: "Three accounts" must be settled when "replacing old housing with new" housing

　　China News Service reporter Pang Wuji

　　The “old-for-new” craze has spread to the real estate sector. According to statistics from the China Index Research Institute, since 2023, more than 30 cities in China have expressed support for the "trade-in" of houses.

　　For "special commodities" such as housing, which have a longer service life, higher prices, and consumers are more cautious in purchasing decisions, the operation of "exchanging old products for new ones" is more difficult than that of mobile phones, home appliances and other commodities. However, clearing transaction barriers and promoting circulation are of great benefit to the overall The effect of restoring market vitality will also be greater.

　　How can we make the chain of "old houses for new ones" truly circulate, thereby driving the linkage between the primary and second-hand housing markets? The answer may lie in settling the "three accounts."

　　First, home buyers must settle their “house exchange debt” first.

　　"You can't sell an old house, and you can't buy a new one." Selling the old house is the starting point of the house replacement chain. Only by truly solving the problem of house selling can the house replacement chain have a smooth foundation.

　　For home buyers, the biggest attraction of “trade-in” is that it solves the problem of selling a house from the source.

　　At present, the "old-for-new" policies introduced in different parts of China are not the same. For example: Yancheng, Suzhou, Shenyang and other places issue "old-for-new" house purchase subsidies. Some cities such as Ningbo, Jinan, Zibo, etc. have joined forces with developers and real estate agencies. Home buyers can subscribe and lock in the houses at the developers, and the entrusted real estate agencies will give priority to selling the old houses. Another more effective way may be for local state-owned enterprises to directly acquire old houses. In Taicang City, Suzhou, Xiangcheng District, Zhengzhou, Lianyungang and other places, state-owned enterprises or developers directly acquire old houses, and the proceeds are used to purchase new houses in corresponding projects.

　　For example: the "old for new" policy of commercial housing in Hai'an City, Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, is that the owner takes out the original house and negotiates with the commercial housing development project he intends to purchase. After both parties negotiate and agree on a reasonable price, the property is transferred to the developer or the developer's designation. The target is to issue a house check equal to the value of the old house, which is used to pay the down payment of the new house. The difference between the old house and the new house is paid by the buyer through self-financing, mortgage loans, and housing provident fund loans, and the replacement is successful.

　　It should be noted that most of the current acquisition-style “old-for-new” transactions are experimental, and there are certain restrictions on the commercial housing projects that can be selected. Before changing a house, home buyers need to check whether the old house meets the conditions and whether they can accept the appraised price of the old house, and then act after settling the account.

　　Secondly, developers must settle the “accounts of one purchase and one sale”.

　　Under the new situation where real estate supply and demand have undergone major changes, local state-owned enterprises or designated developers can purchase old houses, which will help shorten the transaction cycle and start the housing improvement chain. But can some developers achieve breakeven by selling new houses and acquiring old houses through the "one purchase, one sale" policy? This issue is related to the sustainability of the "old-for-new" policy.

　　Li Yujia, chief researcher of the Housing Policy Research Center of the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Urban Planning, reminded that it is reasonable to purchase some small and medium-sized ordinary commercial housing with excellent locations, good supporting facilities, and low prices at low prices to use them as affordable rental housing or talent housing. However, large-scale acquisitions may be difficult to achieve: on the one hand, companies are subject to financial and debt constraints; on the other hand, if there is no better way to match supply and demand, it may lead to indigestion of housing stock.

　　Yan Yuejin, research director of E-House Research Institute, said that it is a feasible path for Jiangsu Haian to hand over the acquired properties to asset management companies for operation, and at the same time give priority to using them as talent apartments, rental housing for migrant workers, or incorporating them into affordable rental housing.

　　Third, the “utilization and operation accounts” of local old buildings must be settled.

　　How to dispose of acquired old houses in order to maximize the inventory and utilize resources? Yan Yuejin suggested that local governments should do a good job in "revitalization and utilization", such as introducing building materials and decoration companies to renovate old houses to maintain and increase the value of the houses. Zhengzhou City stated that it will subsequently transform the second-hand houses acquired by urban investment companies and use them for local affordable rental housing.

　　Li Yujia suggested that the government should give full play to its public service functions, build an information platform, connect buyers, sellers, and intermediaries to ensure the authenticity of housing information, the authenticity of customer needs, and the transparency of prices, so as to efficiently match supply and demand and reduce transaction costs. At the same time, he believes that the public facilities for new houses and existing houses should be further improved, the renovation of old communities should be accelerated, the livability and comfort of the houses should be improved, and ultimately market forces should be relied on to promote a virtuous cycle between the existing houses and the new house market. (over)