Mini Program: Daily Real Estate Industry News Summary

1. The interest rate for the first home loan at HSBC Guangzhou is as low as 3.1%, and the interest rate for a home loan over 2 million can be as low as 3.05%

On July 17, an account manager at an HSBC branch revealed to reporters that currently, the interest rate for the first home loan of HSBC in Guangzhou is 3.1%. If the loan amount exceeds 2 million yuan, the interest rate for the first home loan can be as low as 3.05% if the lender's qualifications meet the requirements. The account manager also said, “As long as the first home is on sale online, the interest rate for the second home loan can also be executed according to the interest rate for the first home loan.” Furthermore, I learned from bank outlets that the Bank of China and China Construction Bank have recently cut interest rates for the first home loan in Guangzhou to 3.2%. However, a Bank of China branch staff said that interest rates for two-home loans in Guangzhou have not been adjusted recently and are still 3.8%. The reporter learned that the Bank of China's first home loan interest rate in the Foshan and Dongguan regions of Guangdong Province has been cut to 3.15%. According to reports, since May 24, after Foshan lifted the lower interest rate limits for the first home and second home, major banks have followed up the adjustments. Currently, most banks in Foshan have interest rates for first home loans at 3.15%. (Shell Finance)

2. Beijing Bureau of Statistics: In the first half of the year, the sales area of commercial housing in the city was 5.099 million square meters, down 2.5% year on year

On July 17, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics issued “Beijing's economy continued to improve in the first half of the year”. In the first half of the year, fixed asset investment in Beijing (excluding rural households) increased 9.6% year on year. Effective investment continues to expand, reflecting a 32.9% increase in equipment purchase investment for enterprises to expand production capacity. The electronics manufacturing and information service industries are clearly driving the driving effect, reflecting a 4.0% increase in investment in construction and installation projects reflecting physical workload. By sector, investment in infrastructure increased by 30.5%, investment in manufacturing increased by 33.9%, and investment in real estate development decreased by 1.7%. The construction area of housing in Beijing was 107.551 million square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 9.3%, of which the residential construction area was 53.774 million square meters, a decrease of 8.2%. The sales area of commercial housing in the city was 5.099 million square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 2.5%, of which the residential sales area was 3.553 million square meters, a decrease of 6.2%.

3. Sichuan: The decline in real estate development investment in the first half of the year was 0.7 percentage points narrower than in January-May

On July 17, the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Statistics announced the economic performance of Sichuan in the first half of the year. Among them, the value added of industries above scale and total retail sales of social consumer goods in Sichuan Province increased by 5.2% and 4.3% respectively in June, both rebounding 0.5 percentage points from May; fixed asset investment (excluding rural households) increased by 0.9% in the first half of the year, and the scale continued to expand, and the structure continued to be optimized. Specifically, the real estate market and related fields are gradually improving. Driven by the new real estate policy, activity in the Sichuan real estate market has increased. In the first half of the year, the decline in real estate development investment and sales area of newly built commercial housing in the province was 0.7 and 0.4 percentage points narrower than in January-May; furniture retail sales per unit above the limit changed from a 6.1% decline in the first quarter to an increase of 4.9%. On the industrial side, the investment structure of Sichuan Province was adjusted to a “new” one. Investment in high-tech industries, six dominant industries, and green and low-carbon dominant industries increased by 6.8%, 9.4%, and 10.3%, respectively.

4. Central Plains: Hong Kong registered 329 sales of second-hand private homes under three years in the second quarter

On July 17, according to data from the Central Plains Real Estate Research Department, in the second quarter of 2024, 329 second-hand private housing transactions with holdings in Hong Kong for three years or less reached 329, accounting for 3.1% of second-hand private housing sales during the same period, a record high of nearly 9 years after the third quarter of 2015, the second-highest proportion. Yang Mingyi, senior co-director of the Central Plains Real Estate Research Department, pointed out that this phenomenon is mainly due to the government's complete cancellation of property market regulation measures at the end of February 2024, and there has been a marked increase in resale of short-term holdings. According to the data, out of these 329 transactions, 88.1% of the owners lost their books, with an average loss margin of 17.2%. Among them, second-hand buyers accounted for 88.1%, and first-hand buyers accounted for 11.9%. First-hand buyers had higher loss ratios and margins, 92.3% and 19%, respectively. In the book profit case, take Room F on the lower floor of Tung Fai Court in Yuen Long. The owner bought it for HK$2.375 million in December 2023 and sold it for HK$2.88 million in April 2024, with a book profit of 21.3%. The biggest loss case was Flat G on the lower floor of Block 1, Phase 5, Butterfly Crest, Yuen Long. The owner bought it for HK$4.87 million in December 2021 and sold it for HK$3 million in April 2024, with a book loss of 38.4%. Of the 8 cases purchased in 2024, all were properties under HK$6 million. Half of them were profitable, with an average profit margin of 9.3%.

5. Ministry of Housing, Urban-Rural Development: The country has implemented more than 0.066 million urban renewal projects and completed an investment of 2.6 trillion yuan

The reporter learned on July 17 that the Ministry of Housing, Urban-Rural Development revealed that the country has now implemented more than 0.066 million urban renewal projects and completed an investment of 2.6 trillion yuan. The comprehensive results brought about by the implementation of urban renewal actions are gradually showing. Up to now, a total of 0.066 million urban renewal projects have been implemented across the country. Among them, 7.8 billion square meters of buildings have now been renovated around the renovation and utilization of existing buildings, further improving the level of building safety and energy efficiency. Focusing on the renovation of old urban neighborhoods, construction began last year to renovate 0.0537 million old urban neighborhoods, and 0.036 million elevators were installed. In the first five months of this year, 0.0226 million old urban neighborhoods were newly constructed and renovated across the country. According to information, at present, as a prerequisite for urban renewal, prefecture-level cities and above have carried out comprehensive urban medical examinations. Starting this year, the central financial administration has also begun supporting some cities to implement urban renewal actions. The first batch involved a total of 15 cities. (CCTV News)

6. Industry insiders: The housing rental industry has a market and space

The “Financial Times”, which is in charge of the People's Bank of China, quoted industry insiders as saying that China has entered an era of no shortage of housing, but structural difficulties still exist. The rental market has huge demand potential. The housing rental industry has a market and space. Revitalizing the stock to develop affordable housing and supporting the sustainable development of the housing rental industry is a new way of “breaking the game.” Experts said that in the future, in order to broaden the understanding of affordable housing, affordable housing should be defined from the perspective of a household's housing needs at different stages of the life cycle, and not limited to housing security for low-income people. With low market valuations, the housing rental market can be effectively activated through “central bank tools+local subsidies”.

7. The Hong Kong Government allows the sale of West Kowloon District 2 residential projects. It is expected that the capital brought by the new arrangement can be operated for the next 10 years

On July 18, it was announced that the HKSAR Government approved the financial arrangements of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority to allow the sale of residential development properties in West Kowloon District 2, while retaining all proceeds. The maximum total residential floor area of the current West Kowloon Development Plan remains unchanged at 0.1728 million square meters. The Government anticipates that the capital flow brought about by the new arrangement will allow West Kowloon to operate over the next 10 years. The approval of the plan is conditional, including that the Authority must deposit the proceeds in a newly opened designated bank account for monitoring, and strictly abide by the financial discipline key performance indicators (KPIs) set by the government, such as the three-year deficit ceiling. Furthermore, new development projects need to prove that the budget is reasonable and obtain advice from the Development Bureau. The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority said the scheme would reduce the burden of direct government funding while attracting talent and investors. According to reports, the cash reserves for the HK$21.6 billion grant approved by the Legislative Council in the early years are expected to be exhausted by the middle of next year.

8. Ricard Court: Hong Kong's second-quarter luxury property sales registration volume was stratified, and the outlook for the second half of the year is optimistic

On July 17, the recent performance of the Hong Kong luxury property market attracted attention. According to data from the Ricard Real Estate Research Department, there was a stratification of luxury property sales registrations in the second quarter of this year. According to the data, there has been an increase in the volume of luxury property transactions of 0.1 billion yuan or more, although such luxury homes usually have fewer supplies and are sold by fewer owners. These luxury homes, which include bungalows and detached houses, are popular in the market.

9. The number of single-family housing starts in the US declined in June

The number of single-family housing starts in the US declined further in June, but it may rebound in the next few months as optimism that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September heats up. According to data from the US Department of Commerce, the number of single-family housing starts fell 2.2% month-on-month in June, and converted to an annual rate of 0.98 million units after seasonal adjustments. Single-family housing construction accounts for most of the housing construction. Future construction permits for single-family homes fell 2.3% to 0.934 million units. Meanwhile, the number of single-family housing starts increased 5.4% year over year in June. For most of last year and the first quarter of 2024, housing construction performance was strong due to a lack of second-hand housing in the market.

10. Housing occupancy rate in the US is rising, and multi-family housing construction is increasing

New home construction activity in the US heated up in June due to an increase in multi-family housing projects and an increase in the annualized monthly rate of new home starts in June. The annualized monthly rate of new home starts in the US increased by 3% to 1.35 million households in June. According to the agency's median survey, economists expect 1.3 million new home starts. The monthly rate of construction permits representing future construction activities increased by 3.4% to 1.45 million households.

11. Agency: Foreigners are buying second-hand homes in the US at a record low

Due to the strengthening of the US dollar and the scarcity of housing, overseas buyers are buying US homes at a record low. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that in the 12 months ending March, foreign citizens purchased 54,300 second-hand homes in the US, a 36% decrease compared to the same period last year. The number is the lowest since the Association counted foreign housing purchase data in 2009.