China is advancing reforms in its real estate sector by improving basic systems for the sale of commercial housing, land finance and taxation, said an official of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on Friday. The ministry is spearheading efforts to refine the housing supply framework, particularly by boosting the construction and availability of affordable housing. This initiative aims to meet the essential housing needs of the wage-earners by guiding local governments to align housing projects with demand.
"We will establish a housing mechanism holistically coordinating the four key factors of 'population, housing demand, land and financial resources' through guiding localities to formulate their own housing plans and annual housing schemes. The localities have already formulated and released their annual housing schemes as required while proactively outlining a blueprint for their housing development in the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan period," said Dong Jianguo, Vice Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
Dong also said the ministry will promote the sale of properties upon completion, signaling a shift from the traditional pre-sale model.
This new approach is being implemented for some new real estate development projects, with land transfers requiring properties to be sold only upon completion. Several regions across China have already launched projects, Dong said.
"We will build a a coordination mechanism for urban real estate financing, introduce a 'white list' for housing projects, extend financing support to eligible projects city by city, and push for the transition of financing for real estate developers from reliance on subject credit to project-based conditions," he said.
In addition, local governments are tasked with exploring the establishment of systems for property inspections, housing pensions, and insurance, aiming to create a sustainable overall lifecycle management mechanism for housing safety.
In addition, the vice minister also stressed that with the introduction of a series of policies and the orderly progress of housing delivery work, the real estate market has seen positive changes.
"A three-level coordination mechanism at the national, provincial and municipal levels has been established to help all projects that meet the requirements enter the 'white list'. At present, commercial banks have approved more than 5,300 'white list' projects in accordance with the examination and approval procedures, with a loan amount of nearly 1.4 trillion yuan. These funds are being issued in accordance with the progress of the project, strongly supporting the construction and delivery of real estate projects," Dong said.
Looking ahead, the ministry will continue collaborating with relevant departments to prioritize the protection of house buyers' rights, ensuring accountability from local governments, real estate developers, and financial institutions in the concerted effort to secure housing project deliveries.
China pushes for reform of real estate sales system
