The press conference of the State Council Information Office has attracted significant market attention. Officials from five departments, including the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the People's Bank of China, and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, jointly presented new incremental measures, implemented existing policies, and launched a series of combined actions to stabilize and reverse the downward trend in the real estate market.

What impact will the new measures have on the real estate market?

"Two Increases": Targeting Bottlenecks and Pain Points, Incremental Measures Focused and Targeted

On that day, five departments focused on the bottlenecks and difficulties faced by the real estate market, each introducing a series of targeted and practical measures, among which two incremental measures were particularly eye-catching.

Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong stated that through methods such as monetized resettlement, an additional 10,000 urban village renovations and dilapidated housing renovations will be implemented. According to statistics, only in major cities, there are 10,000 urban villages that need to be renovated; nationwide, there are 10,000 dilapidated houses in cities that require renovation.

Why choose monetized resettlement and other methods? Ni Hong said that this not only allows the masses to choose suitable housing according to their own wishes and needs, reducing or eliminating the need for transitional stays outside, enabling them to move directly into new homes, but also eliminates safety hazards, improves living environments, and enhances urban functions.

Monetization resettlement and other methods also help to digest existing commercial housing stock and actively adjust market supply-demand relationships. Wu Jing, Director of the Center for Real Estate Research at Tsinghua University, said that based on the calculation of household average construction area in square meters, the renovation of 10,000 urban villages and dilapidated houses is expected to release about 100 million square meters of rigid housing demand.

"Ten thousand units are just the starting point, and the press conference has sent a clear signal that support can continue to be increased on the basis of ten thousand units."

For the second incremental measure, Xiao Yuanqi, Deputy Director of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, stated that the financing mechanism for real estate "white list" projects will be further optimized and improved. All commercial housing project loans will be included in the "white list" management, ensuring that qualified projects are included and approved loans are fully disbursed, with funds allocated as early as possible. It is expected that by the end of the year, the amount of loans approved for "white list" projects will double, exceeding one trillion yuan.

This means not only expanding the coverage of the 'white list' but also thoroughly addressing the bottlenecks from the 'white list' to 'financing implementation.' Li Yujia, chief researcher at the Housing Policy Research Center of the Urban and Rural Planning Institute of Guangdong Province, stated that this measure helps alleviate the financial strain on real estate enterprises, providing solid assurance for the completion and delivery of housing projects, thereby boosting market confidence.

"Four Cancellations" "Four Reductions": Boosting Confidence, Existing Policies Being Actively Implemented

For existing policies, Ni Hong summarized "four cancellations" and "four reductions."

"Four Cancellations" - including the cancellation or reduction of purchase restrictions, the cancellation of sales restrictions, the cancellation of price limits, and the elimination of the distinction between ordinary and non-ordinary residential standards;

"Four Reductions" - Reduce the interest rate on housing provident fund loans, reduce the down payment ratio for housing loans, reduce the interest rate on existing mortgages, and reduce the tax burden for buying new homes after selling old ones.

"These measures are conducive to reducing home-buying costs and boosting housing demand. Based on current market feedback, they have already had a positive impact and will also provide a clear path for subsequent policies," said Yu Xiaofen, Dean of the China Housing and Real Estate Research Institute at Zhejiang University of Technology.

Since the release of these policies, actions have been taken rapidly across various regions. Following Tianjin's announcement to lift the housing purchase restrictions on a certain date, the number of cities nationwide still implementing purchase restrictions has become very limited, with only Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and some cities in Hainan remaining. These areas have recently also adjusted and reduced their purchase restrictions.

At the press conference, Tao Ling, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China, provided an update on the progress of five previously announced real estate finance measures: the majority of existing mortgage loan interest rates will be adjusted in bulk by the end of the month; the minimum down payment ratios for first and second homes in most cities have been unified at 20%; two real estate finance policies have been extended until the end of the year; after optimizing the policy for secured housing loans, some banks have already submitted applications; and the government is working with relevant departments to research policies supporting the acquisition of existing land from real estate developers...

"Recently, the People's Bank of China has also introduced a package of financial policies including reductions in the reserve requirement ratio and interest rates. Together with the aforementioned real estate financial policies, these measures will continue to have a positive effect on boosting confidence and stabilizing expectations," said Tao Ling.

The reporter also learned from the press conference that currently, local governments are actively advancing the delivery of housing projects, with tens of thousands of units already handed over, demonstrating significant results.

Wang Qing, Chief Macro Analyst at Orient Gold Standard, believes that the behind-the-scenes effort of implementing policies one by one is to address the concerns of the public. The effects of the previous policies are gradually showing, and positive changes have emerged in the real estate market: the number of house viewings and visits has significantly increased in many places, with sales volumes experiencing varying degrees of growth; mortgage rates for residents have dropped significantly, and the phenomenon of early mortgage repayment has decreased.

"China's real estate market, under the influence of a series of policies, has begun to stabilize after three years of adjustment," said Ni Hong.

Strengthening Implementation: Building Momentum for Long-term High-quality Development

The Party Central Committee places great emphasis on the stable and healthy development of the real estate market. Ni Hong stated that going forward, we must work together to effectively implement a combination of measures, ensure their thorough execution, allow the policy effects to fully manifest, and enable the people to enjoy the benefits of these policies.

Experts stated that this round of policy adjustments aims not only to boost the real estate market but also to further accumulate momentum for long-term high-quality development.

A series of policies are still being continuously rolled out. In response to the announced policy allowing special bonds to be used for land reserve, relevant departments have guided local governments to standardize procedures, clarify standards, and focus on "how to collect" to drive implementation.

Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Liu Guohong, stated that the Ministry of Natural Resources is actively cooperating with the Ministry of Finance to promote the use of special bonds to support local governments in land acquisition and storage to revitalize idle land, while also coordinating with relevant departments to study the establishment of special loans for the acquisition of existing land and support policies such as commercial loans.

By reclaiming and revitalizing acquired land, on one hand, it can reduce the scale of market-held land, better fulfilling the functions of land reserves as a "reservoir" and a tool for release regulation; on the other hand, it can increase liquidity, helping real estate enterprises to concentrate funds on ensuring the delivery of housing; additionally, after the land is reclaimed and transformed into "clean land" and "quality land," it is conducive to addressing shortcomings in public service facilities, improving the environment, meeting residential needs, and freeing up space to support the development of the real economy.

For policies that align with the cancellation of the criteria for ordinary and non-ordinary residential properties, Assistant Minister of Finance Song Qichao stated that the Ministry of Finance is urgently studying to clarify relevant tax policies, mainly including value-added tax and land value-added tax. These policies will comprehensively consider the pace of real estate regulation in relevant cities and the local fiscal revenue situation, making scientifically reasonable arrangements; grant certain autonomy to local governments, maintaining the stability and fairness of the policies; and effectively reduce the burdens on real estate enterprises and homebuyers.

The Ministry of Finance stated that specific policies are being expedited through the relevant procedures.

China's housing development has entered a new stage from "having or not" to "good or not," with the public having new expectations for the functionality and quality of housing. Ni Hong stated that to promote the construction of "good houses," the focus is on setting examples, establishing standards, building systems, and strengthening technology, aiming to create "good houses" of varying sizes and prices. First and foremost, local governments should ensure that affordable housing is built into "good houses," and they should also transform old houses into "good houses" through urban renewal.