1. Experts: The cancellation of shared area is an important task for next year.

On December 17, Zhangjiakou City in Hebei issued a policy encouraging the implementation of "pre-sale housing" and gradually advancing the "cancellation of shared area"; previously, Hengyang City in Hunan clearly stated that the sale of commercial housing should be priced based on the inner building area, and currently in many places the "cancellation of shared area" has begun to be implemented. Yan Yuejin, vice president of the Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute, stated that the criticism of shared area in recent years is due to the low percentage of usable area, which has affected the rights of homebuyers. The continuous release of policies indicates that the cancellation of shared area is an important task for 2025, with the usable area rate of a 100-square-meter house possibly reaching 100%, which helps improve the quality of home purchases, boosts buyer confidence, and enhances buying enthusiasm. (China News Jingwei)

2. Central Rural Work Conference: Gradually promote the pilot extension of land contracts for another thirty years after the second round of contracts expire.

The Central Rural Work Conference was held in Peking from the 17th to the 18th, during which the conference emphasized the need to fully implement further tasks to deepen rural reform, orderly advance the pilot of extending the second round of land contracts for an additional thirty years after expiration, explore effective ways to revitalize idle farmhouses through renting, shareholding, cooperation, etc., innovate the financing mechanism for Rural Revitalization, and stimulate the vitality and dynamism of Rural Revitalization.

3. The rental deposits in Beijing have been included in supervision, with 0.23 billion yuan, and tenants receive their deposit back simultaneously when they vacate.

On October 1, 2024, the deposit custody and rent supervision business for housing rental in Beijing officially launched, marking the first time that Beijing's housing rents and deposits are subject to supervision. Now, more than two months have passed; how effective has it been? "The inclusion of rent and deposits into supervision definitely provides better protection for tenants. Moreover, with the deposit placed in a supervised account, there are also interest earnings," stated a tenant who received their deposit and interest back shortly after vacating. According to reporters, during the two months since Beijing's housing rental deposit has been under supervision, 0.066 million contracts have been archived, with a total amount of funds subject to supervision at 0.23 billion yuan, of which the deposits account for 99.5%. Li Junliang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Beijing Real Estate Agency Association, suggested that citizens should promptly check whether the rent and deposits are under supervision when renting a house to safeguard their rental rights.

4. China Index Academy: The overall real estate market may still be in a bottoming phase in 2025.

Looking ahead to 2025, enhanced policies are expected to boost expectation recovery, but the real estate market still faces many challenges, and it may remain in a bottoming phase. In a neutral scenario, the sales area of commercial housing nationwide is expected to decrease by about 6% next year. The pace of market sales recovery depends on the promotion and implementation of policies that have been issued, particularly the policy of monetized resettlement of 1 million urban village renovation units and storage of stock housing. Meanwhile, the reduction of land supply, pressure on real estate companies' funds, and high inventory will make it difficult to change the downward trend of short-term investment in new projects. The implementation progress of policies to revitalize idle land next year will be a key factor in driving the market into a new cycle and stabilizing investment starts.

5. New home prices have stopped falling and started to rise. A reporter's field investigation shows that Wuhan's quasi-fourth generation Residences are once again in high demand.

Since the end of September, multiple measures to stabilize the property market have boosted market confidence, keeping housing transactions in Wuhan active over the past two months. Following Wuhan's new home sales exceeding 10,000 units for two consecutive months, new home prices in Wuhan saw their first increase in nearly a year in November, rising 0.4% month-on-month. As December approached, favorable policies for the property market continued. The Political Bureau meeting of the Central Committee held on December 9 set the tone to stabilize the property and stock markets, continuing the policy from the September 26 meeting which aimed to promote the stabilization of the real estate market. In recent days, reporters from the Securities Times have visited several properties in Wuhan and noted that December is a critical time for developers to boost performance, with developers generally increasing their sales efforts significantly. It is worth noting that amidst the continuous supportive policies in the property market, the sales of quasi-fourth generation Residences stand out among new housing projects, with some core areas experiencing robust sales, reminiscent of the 'sunlight trays' phenomenon. Taking a popular property in Wuchang District as an example, this development is the first quasi-fourth generation Residence in the area and offered 268 units on its initial launch on December 12. According to posters released by the sales staff, more than 1,000 buyers chose their homes that day, selling out in 2 hours with a transaction amount exceeding 0.4 billion yuan. (Securities Times)

6. The effectiveness of re-lending for affordable housing has emerged, with over 10 cities acquiring existing housing projects.

Since the national meeting on ensuring housing delivery on May 17, relevant departments and localities have closely collaborated to accelerate the acquisition of existing commercial housing for use as affordable housing, achieving phased results. Recent reports indicate that in over 10 cities, existing housing projects have been acquired, and more than ten thousand affordable housing units have been mobilized. The national meeting on ensuring housing delivery clarified that in cities with abundant commercial housing inventory, the government can 'order' based on demand, purchasing some commercial housing at reasonable prices for use as affordable housing. Various local departments are actively promoting policy implementation, establishing special working groups for acquisitions within the real estate financing coordination mechanism, and encouraging local governments to increase their efforts. Currently, more than a hundred cities nationwide have designated acquisition entities, and over 70 cities have publicly issued housing source collection notices.

7. The Jilin Provincial Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department has acquired 0.397 million square meters of existing commercial housing.

A series of themed press conferences were held to implement the spirit of the 12th plenary session of the Jilin Provincial Committee (the tenth session), where Xu Liang, head of the Jilin Provincial Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department, introduced efforts to acquire existing commercial housing for affordable housing, with a goal of not less than 1 million square meters. They aim to revitalize inefficient land areas within the four rings that are equipped with mature support systems, also targeting not less than 1 million square meters. Currently, 0.397 million square meters of existing commercial housing have been acquired, with two premium plots in the main urban area—the well-connected Nanhu Road and Heping Avenue—being put up for sale; three plots covering 0.179 million square meters are in the auction process. Based on the pilot implementation situation, the initiative will be promoted statewide in due course to facilitate high-quality development of the real estate market. Additionally, affordable housing construction and urban village renovations are being advanced. This year, there are 9,073 urban village projects started in the province, with 2,446 units of shared ownership affordable housing and 11,700 rental housing units being developed. By 2025, the province plans to enhance urban village renovation efforts, building 6,000 relocation units, transforming 2,000 dilapidated urban houses, and collecting 4,000 rental housing units.

8. Changchun adjusts its housing provident fund usage policy, extending the policy term for maximum loan limits.

Changchun will implement the housing provident fund policy adjustment starting January 1, 2025. This adjustment includes four aspects. First, the extension of the policy term for maximum loan limits. From January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025, the maximum loan amount for a single loan in Changchun's main urban area and development zones (excluding Shuangyang District and Jiutai District) with co-borrowers is 1 million yuan; if there are no co-borrowers, the maximum loan amount is 800,000 yuan. Second, the down payment ratio for the second use of the housing provident fund loan for purchasing housing is adjusted. For the second use of the housing provident fund loan to purchase new commercial housing and existing housing, the down payment ratio must not be lower than 20%, and the loan amount must not exceed 80% of the value of the mortgaged property.

9. Hunan Zhang Jia Jie: Make every effort to effectively recover and acquire stockpiled idle land with special Bonds funds.

On December 18, Wang Hongbin, the mayor of Zhang Jia Jie City in Hunan Province, presided over a special meeting to review the city's land reserve special Bonds project. The meeting emphasized that utilizing special Bonds funds to recover and acquire stockpiled idle land is a key measure to reduce the size of market idle land, improve land supply and demand relations, enhance the liquidity of local government and enterprises, and promote the stabilization of the real estate market. Relevant departments and units should pay close attention, seize the opportunity, gain comprehensive knowledge of stockpiled idle land assets, and provide strong support for the preparation of the detailed regulatory plan for the city center and promote the healthy development of the real estate market. Clear objectives must be established, work leadership and scheduling must be strengthened, policies must be studied thoroughly, land prices must be determined scientifically, project application priorities must be clarified, and efforts must be made to report upwards for maximum support, in order to effectively recover and acquire stockpiled idle land with special Bonds funds.

10. The Hong Kong Central Plains Agents Index CSI (Residential Price) has stabilized above 45 points for four consecutive weeks, reflecting a stable overall trend in Hong Kong house prices.

The latest report of the Hong Kong Central Plains Agents Index CSI (Residential Price) is at 46.34 points, down 0.37 points from last week's 46.71 points. Yang Mingyi, Senior Joint Director of the Hong Kong Central Plains Real Estate Research Department, stated that the CSI has fallen for two consecutive weeks, totaling a drop of 1.12 points, but has stabilized above the lower limit of the 45-point threshold for four consecutive weeks, reflecting that house prices remain relatively stable with no signs of downward adjustment.

11. Sunac has initiated arbitration against Wanda Group, requiring the payment of 9.5 billion yuan for the share repurchase of strategic investment.

According to reports, Sunac Group has filed for arbitration with the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission against Dalian Wanda Group Co., Ltd. concerning an earlier strategic investment agreement signed between Sunac and Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group Co., Ltd. Sunac demands that Wanda Group and Wanda Commercial Management pay the corresponding share repurchase funds. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that this arbitration application has been accepted.

12. Data on single-family housing starts in the USA rebounded, but future construction prospects face multiple challenges.

In November, USA single-family housing starts data rebounded as the impact of hurricanes receded, but threats from import tariffs on goods and potential labor shortages due to large-scale deportations of immigrants could hinder the construction market next year. The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on Wednesday that single-family housing starts in the previous month surged by 6.4%, adjusting for seasonal factors, equating to an annual rate of 1.011 million units. Single-family housing starts account for the majority of housing construction. Despite the Federal Reserve starting to cut interest rates since September, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate remains close to 7%, paralleling the 10-year Treasury yield. Concerns about inflation due to the resilience of the U.S. economy and some policies from President-elect Trump have caused the 10-year Treasury yield to rise. The Federal Reserve is expected to lower rates for the third time this week, but the extent of further cuts is expected to be lower than the four cuts predicted in September.