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China’s real estate market showed positive changes during the week-long National Day holidays, as homebuyer confidence was revived by a series of measures announced by major Chinese cities since September to boost the healthy development of local property markets, according to industry insiders and sales figures.

“Following new policy adjustments, inquiries for second-hand homes in Beijing increased notably, as more people are now eligible to buy homes in the city,” a Beijing-based property broker named Xia Zhiwei told the Global Times on Sunday.

Between October 1 and noon of October 3, the number of on-site inquiries for new homes in Beijing rose 92.5 percent on a yearly basis while home subscription doubled. On-site  inquiries for second-hand homes in Beijing jumped by 104.1 percent year-on-year, according to a report on the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) website.

During the Golden Week, over 1,000 property developers across the country launched more than 2,000 promotion activities including offering discounts and vouchers to boost sales of new homes. Most real estate projects involved in promotions saw client inquiries surge by 50 percent year-on-year, data from the MOHURD showed.

Pu Zhan, deputy director of the policy research center under the MOHURD, said that various promotions have driven overall positive changes in the real estate market, with increases in both inquiries and transactions.

Recently, over 50 Chinese cities, including first-tier cities Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, adjusted their real estate policies, with a range of measures unveiled to boost local property markets, according to media reports.

Among major cities, Guangzhou announced that there will be no restrictions on the number of homes purchased by families and single individuals with or without local household registration in the city, according to a circular issued by the general office of the municipal government.

Policy adjustments

“For some time now, the country has released policies targeting sectors including the real estate and the stock market with an intensity rarely seen before,” Song Ding, a research fellow at the China Development Institute, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held a meeting on September 26, and emphasized efforts will be made to stabilize the property market and reverse its downturn.

The meeting pointed out that the authorities will adjust housing purchase restrictions, reduce interest rates on existing mortgage loans, promptly improve land, fiscal, tax and financial policies, and promote a new model for real estate development.

The new round of property policies mainly focuses on the demand side, particularly addressing the diverse and evolving housing needs of residents, according to Song.

On September 24, the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, unveiled a new package of monetary measures, led by reductions in existing mortgage rates, in a bid to boost the country’s real estate market and fire up consumer spending.

“Adjusting existing mortgage interest rates will have a positive guiding effect. The reduction in monthly payments should have a positive impact in boosting homebuyers’ confidence,” Yan Yuejin, research director at Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute, told the Global Times.

Yan stressed the need to better leverage the role of property policy adjustments to help steer the market. “The development of the real estate sector in various regions has their own characteristics, and thus it is crucial for local governments to hold autonomy in adjusting local property market policies in line with their own conditions,” Yan said.

He said MOHURD’s support for cities, especially first-tier cities, to independently adjust real estate policies is a forceful move to elevate market confidence and boost the implementation of relevant policies.

Stable growth expected

Analysts remain positive for the future development of China’s real estate market. “As policies continue to produce effects, the market is expected to march toward relatively stable growth starting from the fourth quarter of this year,” Song said.

“Thanks to forceful measures like lowering home purchase thresholds, the activity of market capital and potential demand has greatly increased, with an equilibrium between home sellers and buyers forming,” he said.

There is still great potential and room for China’s property sector to expand, bolstered by the country's ongoing urbanization and people's growing demand for good housing, Ni Hong, minister of the MOHURD, said at a press conference in August.

As supply and demand shift, China’s real-estate market remains in the process of adjustment. But positive signals have surfaced as various policy measures have started to take effect, the minister said.

Looking ahead, another official with the MOHURD said that the ministry will continue to encourage local governments to run promotions and further implement the 'white list' mechanism to ensure competition in real estate projects, enhancing the long-term impact of these policies .