Recently, there have been new changes in the proportion of units and area standards of residential buildings in Shanghai.

3月15日，上海今年第一批次第一轮宅地出让落下帷幕。此次土拍中有一重要细节：The upper limit of the construction area of small and medium-sized residential units with multi-storey, small high-rise, and high-rise levels will be increased, and the proportion of small and medium-sized residential units will be lowered.

以往，上海多层、小高层、高层的中小套住宅建筑面积上限分别为90平方米、95平方米和100平方米，中小套型占比为60%到80%。根据今年首批首轮出让土地的公开信息，此次出让地块中， The upper limit of the construction area of small and medium-sized residential units with multiple floors, small high-rise and high-rise levels is 100 square meters, 110 square meters and 120 square meters, and the proportion of small and medium-sized residential units is 50% to 70%.

Industry insiders said that the reduction in the proportion of small and medium-sized apartments and the increase in area standards means that more large-sized apartments will enter the Shanghai real estate market in the future to better meet the demand for improved home purchases. This is even more good news for buyers in the suburbs of Shanghai, especially the "five new cities".

The "7090" policy meets the needs of just buying houses

The regulations on the proportion of small and medium-sized units in the entire residential project come from the "Several Opinions on Implementing the Structural Proportion Requirements for New Housing" issued by the former Ministry of Construction on July 6, 2006. The first part of the "Opinions" clarifies the proportion of newly built housing structures:"Starting from June 1, 2006, among the total area of newly approved and newly started commercial housing in each city, the proportion of housing (including affordable housing) with a floor area of less than 90 square meters must reach more than 70%." This policy is also known as the "7090" policy. According to this requirement, the city's transfer document for each commercial housing land will make corresponding provisions on the area standards and proportion of small and medium-sized units to be constructed on the plot.

Shanghai has also introduced some detailed rules. 比如2016年出台的《关于进一步优化本市土地和住房供应结构的实施意见》明确指出，要增加中小套型商品住房供应，“进一步加大商品住房用地的中小套型住房供应比例，中心城区不低于70%，郊区不低于60%（部分矛盾突出区域亦为70%）；轨道交通站周边区域商品住房用地的中小套型住房供应比例提高到80%以上；保障型住房的中小套型供应比例，中心城区为100%，郊区不低于80%。”

At the same time, Shanghai's "Opinion" also clarified that the construction area standards for small and medium-sized units of multi-storey, small high-rise and high-rise buildings are 90 square meters, 95 square meters and 100 square meters respectively.

The "13th Five-Year Plan for Shanghai City Housing Development" released the following year pointed out that it is necessary to "improve the long-term mechanism to optimize the housing supply structure and increase the supply of small and medium-sized ordinary commercial housing on the market", and reiterated that "further increase the supply of commercial housing land The proportion of small and medium-sized housing in the central Urban area should not be less than 70%."

A person in charge of a real estate developer in Fengxian District told reporters that the "7090" policy aims to allow more people to "own their own homes" and to a certain extent, it takes care of the needs of just buying houses, but it also leads to difficulties in land acquisition, slow removal, and poor vitality in some areas. As the supply-demand relationship in China's real estate market has undergone major changes, real estate policies must also be optimized and adjusted in a timely manner. "Many people's housing needs have changed from 'yes or no' to 'good'. The demand for improved housing is increasing, and it is imperative to adjust the' 7090 'policy."

"Small units lack people to buy, but large units are not enough to sell."

expected to be alleviated

In the suburbs of Shanghai, especially in the "Five New Cities"-Jiading New City, Qingpu New City, Songjiang New City, Fengxian New City, and Nanhui New City areas, there are strong calls for adjusting the "7090" policy. 不少人认为，此前的安居政策供需不适配。

At this year's Shanghai Two Sessions, Wu Qunfeng, deputy to the Municipal People's Congress and director of the Development and Reform Division of the Lingang New Area Management Committee, submitted a proposal on further optimizing the housing policy of the Lingang New Area. The recommendation points out that research conducted by the Management Committee shows that about 78% of talents hope to buy housing of more than 90 square meters, of which about half hope to buy housing of more than 120 square meters, and about one-fifth hope to buy housing of more than 180 square meters. However, under the current limitations of the proportion and area standards of small and medium-sized units, Nanhui New City has the problem of mismatch between supply and demand of housing, and there are few large units, especially low-density and high-quality housing.

"At present, there is a shortage of people to buy small units, and many target customers are turning to affordable housing; large units are not enough to sell. This has made it difficult for mid-to-high-end talents who have the need and are willing to purchase improved large and medium-sized apartments to purchase houses, weakening the appeal of Nanhui New City to this group of people." Wu Qunfeng said.

Sun Wenjie, director of the Songjiang District Development and Reform Commission, also said that Songjiang New City is the earliest new city to start construction. Local residents and imported population have strong demand for large-sized improved housing, and there is a mismatch in the current supply and demand structure.

The relevant person in charge of the Jiading District Housing Management Bureau said that as talents come to Shanghai for a longer time to develop, the room type requirements will also change after starting a family and having children. "If most of the commercial housing projects are small and medium-sized units, it will not be conducive to the settlement and gathering of talents."

Qu Lei, deputy to the Municipal People's Congress and secretary of the Party Committee of Nanqiao Town, Fengxian District, proposed relaxing the ratio of small and medium-sized units at this year's Shanghai Two Sessions. He said that at present, people buying houses in areas within the outer ring of Shanghai City are mainly in demand, paying more attention to location conditions, and there is a large demand for small and medium-sized units; while the situation in the suburbs is different, and the main group buying houses in the suburbs needs improved housing. "Small units are subject to many restrictions during the planning and design stage, and the housing acquisition rate is lower than that of large units, which leads to a low removal rate."

With new changes in the proportion and standards of residential units in Shanghai, the above problems are expected to be solved. Especially in the suburbs of Shanghai and in the "Five New Cities" area, the impact of the new changes will be more obvious and far-reaching.

A person in charge of a real estate developer in Fengxian District told reporters that since the second half of 2023, the sales of small units in many newly opened projects in Fengxian New City have been poor. However, existing real estate development projects in the Fengxian New City area have reduced the proportion of small and medium-sized units from 70% to 60%. "As policies continue to be untied, the supply of large-sized and improved housing in the same building will increase significantly, which will be more in line with the actual needs of citizens."

**