Mini Program: Daily Real Estate Industry News Summary.
1. In most areas, the lowest mortgage rate has dropped to 3.5% or below. Industry insiders believe that it is unlikely to continue to cut interest rates in the third quarter.
Since the new housing policy was released, the housing loan interest rates in various regions have continued to hit new lows. The cancellation of the lower limit of the housing loan interest rate policy resulted in different interest rates for housing loans from different banks in some regions. Currently, the lowest mortgage rate in most regions has dropped to 3.5% or below. Industry insiders believe that the mortgage rate is currently at a historical low, and the possibility of another cut in the third quarter of this year seems unlikely. (Yicai)
2. Hubei Provincial Financial Supervision Bureau: A total of 249 real estate 'white list' projects have been completed in three batches.
On July 15th, Hubei Provincial Financial Supervision Bureau disclosed that it has continued to promote the landing and effectiveness of the city’s real estate financing coordination mechanism with the deep implementation of the 'Four News' project, and promote the stable and healthy development of the real estate market. As of now, Hubei Province has completed a total of 249 'white list' projects in three batches, with a approval rate of 100% and a financing landing rate of 99.57%. The approved financing amount has reached 66.2 billion yuan. The Bureau promotes interaction between government, banks, and enterprises, analyzes the crux of problems for projects that do not meet the conditions, researches and solves countermeasures. As of now, 45 projects have been repaired, involving a financing demand of 11.7 billion yuan, all have been officially included in the support of the second and third batches of 'white list'. The Housing and Urban Development Department of Hubei Province and other five departments jointly released new real estate policies, with 10 supporting policies such as cancelling the purchase restriction, increasing financial support, and promoting housing renewal, and Wuhan became the first city to lower the lower limit of housing loan interest rates in the country. (21st Century Business Herald)
3. The Hong Kong property market after the effect of 'withdrawal of spicy' has cooled.
According to data from the Hong Kong Land Registry, in June this year, the number of residential building transaction contracts in Hong Kong was 3856, a month-on-month decrease of 30.5%, which was 'cut in the middle' compared to the peak of 8,551 transactions in April this year. However, some interviewees pointed out that even if sales data has recently fallen, the overall sales market outlook for the property market is still much more optimistic than the same period last year. Looking forward to the future, 'cancelling the spicy approach is only one of the many factors affecting buyers' willingness to buy a house. Economic environment and Fed interest rates (policy) will also affect buyers' purchasing intentions. If other factors improve, I believe that the demand for home purchases will be released.' said Liu Jiahui, chief analyst of US real estate. (21st Century Business Herald)
4. The return commission for new houses has become a hot topic in the real estate market again, and industry insiders remind home buyers to beware of the 'return commission trap'.
For real estate developers, inventory turnover is still the top priority at present. Taking advantage of the stimulus brought by policy adjustments, various fancy promotions are emerging in an endless stream, and discount promotions have become one of the important measures for developers to accelerate inventory turnover. Among them, "rebates" as a promotional model is a common phenomenon in the real estate market, but there are also many problems and controversies. Recently, "rebates" for new homes have once again become a hot topic in the Shenzhen property market. Some insiders pointed out that under the current market situation, "rebates" actually provide certain discounts to home buyers. However, home buyers need to be vigilant when faced with "rebate" promises and avoid believing in verbal promises from intermediaries. (Securities Times)
5. The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development held a special training session on the construction of guaranteed housing and the transformation of urban villages, and actively sought policy support for the re-lending of guaranteed housing.
Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development held a special training session on the construction of guaranteed housing and the transformation of urban villages (the third phase) in Changchun City, Jilin Province. The training course elaborated on the significant significance of planning and constructing affordable housing, clarified specific work requirements and issues that need to be noted, and emphasized that relevant cities must implement supporting policies such as central subsidies, local government special bonds, land, supporting finance, and tax and fee preferences, and accelerate project starts and construction; all regions must combine the local real estate market situation and comprehensively consider the actual needs of affordable housing, the inventory level of commodity housing markets, and other factors. We will adhere to purchasing on demand, do a good job of purchasing stocking of existing commodity housing for use as affordable housing, actively seek policy support for the re-lending of guaranteed housing, and promote projects that are mature in conditions to land as soon as possible; we will comprehensively carry out house construction in affordable housing in accordance with the standards of 'green, low-carbon, smart, and safe', and create a 'good house' model to make people's living more comfortable and beautiful. (China Construction News)
6. M&A activity in the real estate industry continues to increase, and the disclosed total transaction scale increases by 11.5% month-on-month.
According to data from CCRE Research Institute, the real estate industry conducted a total of 17 M&A transactions in June, an increase of 2 compared to the previous month. Among them, 15 transactions disclosed transaction amounts, with a total transaction scale of approximately 16.93 billion yuan, an increase of 11.5% month-on-month, and an average single transaction size of 1.13 billion yuan, a decrease of 10.8% month-on-month. The CCRE Research Institute believes that from the total number and scale of M&A transactions, the heat of M&A activities in June continues to increase. The current market is still in an adjustment period, and the industry is continuously outperforming, and it is expected that the phenomenon of real estate enterprises and companies involved in real estate business will still appear in the future. (Securities Times)
7. The NAHB Housing Market Index in the United States fell for the third consecutive month.
The US NAHB property market index continued to decline for the third consecutive month in July, reaching its lowest level this year, due to rising interest rates depressing sales and keeping building financing costs high. The report shows that the measurement of sales expectations for the next six months is one of the few positive factors, and this forward-looking indicator has risen for the first time since March. NAHB's potential buyer traffic and current sales indicators have both dropped to new lows this year. The data also shows that overall, 31% of builders lowered house prices in July, compared to 29% who lowered them last month. The average price reduction for the 13th consecutive month was 6%, while the proportion of builders using sales incentives remained at 61%.
8. Xiangyang, Hubei adjusted the housing provident fund payment base for 2024, and the upper limit of the monthly deposit amount was 5,238 yuan.
On July 15th, the Xiangyang Housing Provident Fund Center in Hubei announced that Xiangyang has begun to implement the 2024 housing provident fund deposit base adjustment since July 1st. According to the approval of the Xiangyang Housing Provident Fund Management Committee, the depositing unit needs to adjust the housing provident fund deposit base of employees in the current year based on the total monthly average salary of employees in the previous year. The monthly deposit base of employee housing provident fund in 2024 will be approved according to the monthly average salary of employees themselves in 2023 (i.e. the total wage income of employees in 2023 ÷ 12). In this adjustment, the upper and lower limit standards for the monthly deposit base of the housing provident fund are also clarified. The upper limit is 21,826 yuan, and the maximum monthly deposit amount is 5,238 yuan, while the lower limit is determined according to the minimum monthly wage standard for full-time employed workers published by the Hubei Provincial People's Government. The lower limits for Xiangcheng District and Fancheng District are 2,210 yuan, and the lowest monthly deposit is 221 yuan; for Zaoyang City, Laohekou City and Xiangzhou District, the lower limit is 1,950 yuan, and the lowest monthly deposit is 195 yuan; for Yicheng City, Nanzhang County, Baokang County, and Gucheng County, the lower limit is 1,800 yuan, and the lowest deposit is 180 yuan. The adjusted deposit base should not exceed the upper limit standard, nor should it be lower than the lower limit standard.
The second home loan interest rate in Nanjing has been reduced to 3.05%, the same as the first home loan interest rate.
On July 17th, according to local media reports, the second home loan interest rate in Nanjing has been reduced to 3.05%, the same as the first home loan interest rate. This adjustment was made against the backdrop of frequent changes in housing loan interest rates across the country after the cancellation of the lower limit of the 517 new policy. Many banks including cm bank, china citic bank corporation and bank of nanjing have started implementing the new interest rates. Compared with the previous 4.25%, the monthly repayment under the new interest rate is reduced by 1,353.69 yuan, and the total interest is reduced by 0.487 million yuan.
Guangxi Hezhou: Real estate projects that contribute to the improvement of urban image will receive awards and bonuses.
On July 17th, Hezhou City, Guangxi released the "Several Measures to Further Promote Housing Consumption", which aims to stimulate the housing market by increasing the amount of housing provident fund loans, adjusting the down payment ratio, and implementing deed tax subsidies, etc.. This policy took effect immediately, and some measures will continue until the end of 2025. The measures include rewards for the sales area of real estate development projects. For example, for a quarter with a sales area exceeding 5,000 square meters, the development company's marketing team can receive a bonus of 30,000 yuan; for an area exceeding 12,000 square meters, the bonus will be 80,000 yuan. In addition, projects that significantly improve the city's image will receive tailored rewards and bonuses. For families with multiple children, the policy has relaxed the standard for determining the number of housing units. Financial institutions will implement credit policies for the first or second housing when lending to purchase new houses. Meanwhile, the Hezhou Municipal Government supports residents who sell their old houses to buy new ones and offers a 100% financial subsidy on deed tax to homebuyers who complete the network registration of newly built commodity housing. This is aimed at promoting the transfer of second-hand houses with collateral, and promoting a healthy cycle of the housing market.
Wuzhishan City in Hainan has relaxed its home purchase restrictions, supporting talents and enterprises to invest in home purchases.
On July 16th, the Housing and Urban-rural Development Bureau of Wuzhishan City, Hainan Province released the "Notice on Optimizing and Adjusting Real Estate Regulatory Policies" (Qiongjianfang [2023] No. 263), aiming to promote the steady and healthy development of the real estate market. The notice specifies that it supports permanent residents in home purchases, including non-provincial residents' families, families that 'sell old and buy new', individual industrial and commercial households, social organization operators, etc., who are eligible for the same treatment as local residents in home purchases. At the same time, it supports the purchase of homes by talents who meet certain conditions, including flexible talents, non-provincial household registered talents, key enterprise employees, etc., and they are also eligible for the same treatment as local residents in home purchases. In addition, the notice proposes to support enterprises to invest in home purchases, and according to enterprise investment, tax contribution, actual housing demand, etc. a certain proportion of non-provincial household registered residents' families will be allocated home purchase quotas. At the same time, the notice cancels the minimum unit construction area restriction of 150 square meters for the ownership division of commercial and office projects, optimizes and adjusts the scope of housing unit recognition, and housing purchased in other cities and counties will not be counted as a home purchase unit.