In the first half of this year, over 560 real estate market stabilization measures were introduced across various parts of China. These include easing purchase restrictions, adjusting the housing provident fund (gongjijin) system, and providing housing purchase subsidies. Industry insiders point out that, following continuous support from 2024 to 2025, the stage where the biggest risks in the real estate industry materialize has already passed, and the policy focus will continue to shift towards stabilizing market sentiment.

【その他の写真】

One of the key policy focuses in the first half of the year was the housing provident fund (gongjijin), with over 300 related policies. The gongjijin is a unique Chinese housing purchase-related system, a housing-related fund jointly and compulsorily contributed to by workers and enterprises. Current policies mainly focus on raising the limit for provident fund loans, expanding the scope of withdrawals and usage, and establishing contribution systems for people with flexible employment, such as freelancers.

Regarding the easing of purchase restrictions, major cities represented by Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou introduced new policies, conditionally relaxing housing purchase restrictions for people without household registration (hukou) in those cities.

Looking at the policy effects, while the transaction volume in the new home market in the first half of the year still decreased, the pace of decline has slowed. Additionally, the inventory of for-sale housing has decreased year-on-year. As of the end of May 2026, the national inventory area of for-sale housing decreased by 0.4% year-on-year, marking a decline for three consecutive months.

The recovery trend in the pre-owned housing market is particularly significant, with the number of listed properties also continuing to decrease. According to data released by the China Index Academy, in the first half of this year, the number of pre-owned home transactions in 20 major cities was approximately 760,000 units, an increase of about 6% year-on-year. Even in Beijing and Shanghai, where the previous year's comparative base was high, increases of 5.6% and 23.8% respectively were recorded.

Furthermore, in recent years, the concept of 'Haofangzi' (quality housing) has gained attention in China and has been included in the Government Work Report for two consecutive years. From January to May this year, the proportion of new home transactions for properties larger than 120 square meters reached 48%, a 2.3 percentage point increase from the previous full year, indicating further expansion of the housing market for properties with excellent living environments.
At the Politburo meeting of the Communist Party of China Central Committee held on April 28, the real estate sector was mentioned, with a clear statement to 'strive to stabilize the real estate market and steadily advance urban redevelopment.' Chinese industry insiders indicate that domestic policies in the second half of the year will continue to be implemented, focusing on three key tasks: stabilizing the market, preventing risks, and promoting structural transformation. (Provided by CGTN Japanese)