In November, the transaction volume of second-hand residences in shanghai broke the record for the fastest month to exceed ten thousand this year.

According to online real estate data from shanghai, on November 13, the number of second-hand residence transactions was 811 units, and the transaction volume since November reached 11,325 units. Notably, data from anjuke shanghai shows that it took only 12 days for shanghai's second-hand residence transactions to surpass 10,000 units in November. As of November 12, the total transaction volume for second-hand residences in shanghai in November had already reached 10,514 units. In November, the transaction volume of second-hand residences in shanghai set the record for the fastest month to exceed ten thousand this year. Analyst lu wenxi from centaline property believes that the recent second-hand residence transactions in shanghai are maintaining a relatively high level of running, under this background, if future supply can recover, the new housing market is expected to rise again.

The Ministry of Finance states that a 1% tax will be levied on residential purchases not exceeding 140 square meters, and second-hand residence holders will be exempt from value-added tax if held for more than 2 years, while the land value-added tax will be reduced by 0.5 percentage points.

The Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued an announcement on tax policies to promote the stable and healthy development of the real estate market, clarifying several tax incentive policies to support the real estate market. For individuals buying a family’s only house (with family members including the buyer, spouse, and minor children), if the area is 140 square meters or less, a deed tax will be levied at a reduced rate of 1%; for areas exceeding 140 square meters, a deed tax will be levied at a reduced rate of 1.5%. For individuals purchasing a second family home, if the area is 140 square meters or less, a deed tax will be levied at a reduced rate of 1%; for areas exceeding 140 square meters, a deed tax will be levied at a reduced rate of 2%. Regarding value-added tax, after the cancellation of the ordinary residential standards in cities, individuals selling residences purchased for more than 2 years (including 2 years) will be exempt from value-added tax. The original regulation of levying value-added tax on individuals selling non-ordinary residences purchased for more than 2 years (including 2 years) in beijing, shanghai, guangzhou, and shenzhen will cease to be enforced. For land value-added tax, the lower limit of the pre-collection rate for land value-added tax in various regions will be uniformly reduced by 0.5 percentage points. Local governments can adjust the actual pre-collection rates based on local conditions.

After the adjustment of deed tax, buyers of the second home in first-tier cities benefit the most, as purchasing a 5 million yuan house can save up to 0.1 million yuan.

The Ministry of Finance issued an announcement regarding tax policies to promote the stable and healthy development of the real estate market, where the deed tax area standard has been adjusted from the previous 90 square meters to 140 square meters. Centaline property’s chief analyst zhang dawei explained that first-time buyers of homes within 90 square meters, as well as those purchasing homes over 140 square meters, will not be affected, while first-time buyers of homes between 90-140 square meters can reduce their deed tax by 0.5%. For second home buyers over 140 square meters, the deed tax can be reduced by 1%, and those within 140 square meters can reduce the deed tax by 2%. The biggest beneficiaries are buyers of second homes in first-tier cities, where deed tax was previously charged at 3% for second homes in the four first-tier cities; the new policy will change to 1% for those under 140 square meters, and 2% for those above 140 square meters, with buyers enjoying up to a 2% exemption on deed tax. For example, a buyer of a second home with a total price of 5 million yuan would previously have to pay a 3% deed tax, which is 0.15 million yuan; under the new policy, it will be charged at 1%, which equals 0.05 million, resulting in a deed tax reduction of 0.1 million yuan.

After optimizing the value-added tax policy, buying a non-ordinary residence in beijing for 2 million and selling it for 5 million could save 0.14 million in tax fees.

The Ministry of Finance announced that beijing, shanghai, guangzhou, and shenzhen will cancel the standards for ordinary and non-ordinary residences, applying a unified individual sales housing value-added tax policy like other regions. For individuals in those cities who sell homes purchased for more than 2 years (including 2 years), they will be exempt from value-added tax. The cancellation of the non-ordinary residence standard will save tax costs for many buyers in first-tier cities who purchased their homes over 2 years ago. According to the measurement by the China Index Academy, taking beijing as an example, before policy optimization, a non-ordinary residence after 2 years required paying value-added tax; if the current price is 5 million yuan, and the original purchase price was 2 million yuan, the payable value-added tax would be (500-200)/1.05*5%, which is 0.143 million yuan. After policy optimization, non-ordinary residences that have been held for more than 2 years will be exempt from value-added tax, allowing savings of the originally payable value-added tax in full.

5. In Guangzhou, housing vouchers can be used to purchase new homes citywide. Experts say that relocated residents need to realize that high compensation is not sustainable.

On November 11, the Guangzhou Planning and Natural Resources Bureau issued a notice on the "Housing Source Supermarket" for housing ticket resettlement. This aims to further implement the housing ticket resettlement policy in Guangzhou, fully expand the resettlement options for households affected by demolition, ensure that these households have equal opportunities to enjoy the same living quality as in commercial housing, and meet the more flexible, diverse, and personalized housing purchase needs. The range of housing sources that can be purchased with the housing tickets issued by Guangzhou covers all new commercial housing available for sale throughout Guangzhou. Li Yujia, the chief researcher at the Housing Policy Research Center of the Guangdong Provincial Urban and Rural Planning Institute, stated in an interview with reporters on November 12 that under the tone of stabilizing the real estate market, the management approach of controlling increases, activating, and optimizing existing stock is dominant. The old renovation will be carried out through housing ticket resettlement, rather than the construction of resettlement housing, which controls the increase, as no new constructions will be added, and it also activates and optimizes existing stock by combining resettlement demand with the disposal of existing stock. After the state issued a new incremental policy on October 17, adding 1 million units for monetized resettlement in urban village renovations, it has become clearer to implement the ideas of controlling increases, activating, and optimizing existing stock in the field of old renovations. (Huaxia Times)

6. Peking: Accelerate the construction of affordable rental housing and the renovation of dilapidated buildings.

On the morning of November 13, the Beijing Municipal Party Committee's Comprehensive Deepening Reform Commission held its twelfth meeting. The meeting emphasized prioritizing support for livelihood and public welfare urban renewal, accelerating the construction of affordable rental housing and the renovation of dilapidated buildings, upgrading municipal infrastructure, public service facilities, and public safety facilities, among others, to fill functional gaps. It adheres to government coordination and market operations, actively guiding social capital participation, promoting the upgrading and transformation of old factories, outdated low-efficiency buildings, traditional commercial facilities, and low-efficiency industrial parks, and strengthening underground space development and utilization. (Beijing Daily)

7. The China Index Academy: The continuous implementation of fiscal and tax policies is expected to further strengthen the market's recovery pace.

The Zhongzhizhi Research Institute stated that the recent release of multiple tax optimization policies by the three ministries continues to unleash bullish policies, and fiscal and tax support for the real estate market is accelerating. These policies will have substantial benefits for both homebuyers and real estate companies, lowering homebuyers' purchasing costs and alleviating financial pressures on real estate companies. This is conducive to further stabilizing market expectations and boosting homebuyers' confidence in property purchases. In October, the real estate market experienced a 'phase of stabilization,' and the consecutive implementation of fiscal and tax policies is expected to further strengthen the pace of market recovery, helping the real estate market halt the decline and stabilize.

8. In Chongqing, new home sales in the first week of November increased by 12.5% year-on-year, with second-hand home sales reaching the highest level in nearly eight weeks.

With many bullish policies in place, the recovery trend in Chongqing's real estate market is becoming increasingly evident. In October, the online contract signing volume of newly built commodities increased by 37.8% month-on-month, and the total transaction volume of newly built and second-hand homes increased by 14.1% month-on-month. Among them, the transaction of commodity housing in the city center reached 0.722 million square meters, up 61.7% month-on-month. Entering November, Chongqing's real estate market continues the hot trend of October. In the first week of November (October 28 to November 3), the online contract signing volume of Chongqing commodity housing increased by 12.5% year-on-year. In terms of second-hand homes, according to data provided by ke holdings' Chongqing branch, as of November 11, the average daily transaction volume of second-hand homes was flat compared to October and up 24.7% year-on-year compared to the same period in 2023.

9. Report: Since April 2023, 9 mainland real estate companies listed in Hong Kong have been delisted.

According to incomplete statistics, about 13 Hong Kong-listed real estate companies were in long-term suspension in 2022, with an additional 14 added in 2023. According to the listing rules of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, continuous suspension for 18 months may lead to direct delisting by the HKEX. Although most real estate companies successfully released their annual reports and resumed trading within the prescribed time limit, some companies still faced delisting as a result. Since New Strength Holdings became the first mainland real estate company to be delisted in this cycle of Hong Kong stocks in April 2023, as of November 11, 2024, a total of 9 mainland real estate companies listed in Hong Kong have been delisted.

10. The real estate market in our country warmed up in October: transaction growth in first-tier cities, confidence rebounded.

Since October this year, the heat of the real estate market in our country has rebounded, showing signs of stabilization. The "National Real Estate Market Monitoring System" online signing data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development shows that in October, the online signing volume of newly built commercial housing in first-tier cities increased by 14.1% year-on-year, and the online signing volume of second-hand housing increased by 47.3% year-on-year. Data released by 58 City and Anjuke showed that the nationwide interest in finding new homes in October increased by 13.2% compared to September, with first-tier cities rising by 16.4%, among which Shenzhen saw a 34.9% increase in the interest in finding new homes. According to the sequence of stabilization in the real estate market, the warming trend in first-tier cities will transmit to other cities, injecting more confidence into the stable development of the nationwide real estate market.

11. Paul Chan Mo-Po: Hong Kong residential prices are stabilizing, there is no intention to impose a vacancy tax on commercial properties and floors.

On November 13, Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-Po stated that with the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts and a series of easing measures launched by the Hong Kong government last month, the transaction volume in the Hong Kong residential market has shown a rebound, and prices are stabilizing. He emphasized that the government will closely monitor the market supply situation. Regarding commercial property, Paul Chan made it clear that there is currently no intention to impose a vacancy tax on unoccupied shops and buildings, believing that the market has begun to stabilize. At the current stage, management will be done by monitoring market conditions without the need for additional measures. "The market dynamics for shops and buildings are still in formation, and owners are expected to respond pragmatically to market changes."