1. Dong Fan: Suggests taking extraordinary measures to quickly boost confidence in the property market.

Professor from the School of Government Management at Beijing Normal University stated in an interview with China Housing Report that currently, some bearish sentiments lead to insufficient trading confidence. To reverse this situation, extraordinary measures must be taken to change the perceptions of market participants, prompting the public to realize the development potential of the Real Estate Industry. In the long run, properties remain valuable and appreciating investment products. Dong Fan proposed four recommendations: Recommendation 1: The national level should clearly send a strong signal that real estate still holds the status of a pillar industry, leading industry, and guiding industry in the economy. Recommendation 2: Relevant central departments are advised to explicitly announce a significant reduction in the supply of construction land in the coming years, which will help decrease the market supply of new homes and is of great significance for restoring market confidence. Recommendation 3: Remove purchasing restrictions in first-tier cities, which is crucial for stabilizing the Real Estate market. Recommendation 4: Propose to extend the housing loan term from 30 years to 40 years to reduce the monthly payment burden on borrowers. (China Housing Report)

2. Guangdong Housing Association: Advocates for the ongoing promotion of consumer actions for Guangdong's commercial housing at the year-end and beginning of the year.

The Guangdong Province Real Estate Industry Association has issued an initiative to continuously carry out promotional Consumer activities for Commodity housing at the end of the year and the beginning of the year, from now until February 28, 2025. Seizing the time window of New Year's Day and the Spring Festival, various promotional Consumer activities such as "New Year Home Buying and Settlement Activities" will be organized. Innovate and improve both online and offline channels and services for house viewing, selection, and purchasing, further meeting the diverse home buying needs of the public and enhancing the experience and quality of housing consumption through quality property recommendations, exclusive discounts, group purchase benefits, holiday marketing, and exhibition promotions.

3. Shenzhen real estate market once again features 'Buy one unit, get one free' promotion.

Recently, a promotion advertisement for new houses featuring 'Buy one unit, get one free' has circulated in the Shenzhen market. Besides the project name, other relevant information is quite comprehensive. Reporters consulted several managers of real estate agencies in the Futian Meilin area and, after learning the specific project name, called the project's sales center. The sales personnel indicated that the current discount on the residential part of this project is 14% off the registered price, with main unit areas ranging from 110 square meters to 133 square meters. The price of the main type of 45 square meter apartment is around 1.8 million yuan. If purchasers choose to buy the residence at the original registered price, they can receive a 45 square meter apartment for free. Industry insiders believe that compared to direct price reductions, 'Buy one unit, get one free' is more conducive to selling off inventory and more beneficial for developers' profits. However, although it is 'buy one get one free', the promotional effect may be more of a gimmick than actual expectations. Behind this also reflects the pressure on developers to recover funds. (Securities Times)

4. DTZ's Wei Dong: The vacancy rate of Beijing's office market may further decrease next year.

DTZ released the '2024 Q4 Beijing Office Retail Market Report'. Chief Policy Analyst and Head of the Northern Research Department Wei Dong indicated that in this quarter, the ongoing strategies of 'cost reduction and efficiency enhancement' and 'exchanging price for volume' have caused rental prices in Beijing's office market to continue declining. In the coming year, limited new supply will provide favorable conditions for market inventory digestion, and the market vacancy rate may further decrease, but the short-term demand for corporate cost control will continue to pressure rental levels.

5. Characteristics of Residence transactions in Peking from January to November: Transactions of products between 90 to 200 square meters accounted for 67.3%.

According to monitoring by the China Index Academy, from January to November 2024, 8,257 sets of residential products under 90 square meters were sold in Peking, accounting for 25.4% of transactions, a decline of 6.4 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023. Transactions of 90-200 square meter products totaled 21,918 sets, accounting for 67.3%, which is an increase of 5.9 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023. Products over 200 square meters had 2,384 sets sold, accounting for 7.3%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023.

6. According to the China Index Academy, it is expected that the nationwide sales area of Commodity housing will decrease by 6.3% year-on-year next year.

The China Index Academy stated that the recovery of new housing sales in 2025 still faces some challenges, such as: residents' income expectations have not fundamentally turned around, insufficient effective supply, and the 'substitution effect' of the second-hand housing market on new housing. In a neutral scenario, it is expected that the nationwide sales area of Commodity housing will decrease by 6.3% year-on-year in 2025. In an optimistic scenario, if 1 million units of urban village renovation monetization and policies like land stockpiling are accelerated, the sales area of Commodity housing in 2025 may stabilize. Meanwhile, a stabilized macro economy, improved employment, and income for residents are also necessary conditions for the Real Estate market to stabilize. Regarding investment and construction, in a neutral scenario, it is expected that the new construction area will decrease by 15.6% year-on-year in 2025 and the investment amount in Real Estate Development will decrease by 8.7% year-on-year, constrained by factors like land reduction, financial pressure on housing enterprises, and high market inventory. The key to promoting investment and construction to 'stop falling and stabilize' in 2025 is to activate idle land stocks, increase effective supply in the market, and promote the market into a new cycle.

7. According to the China Index Academy, the proportion of land premium transaction counts in Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Shanghai in 2024 will all exceed 50%.

According to the China Index Academy's report 'Summary of the China Real Estate Market 2024 & Outlook for 2025', as of December 23, looking at the enthusiasm for land auctions in 2024, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen are still important sites for housing enterprises, while Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Hefei have active participation from enterprises for high-quality plots. According to data from the China Index Academy, from January to November, the proportion of premium transactions for residential land in 22 cities was 24.1%, down 13.3% from the same period last year. In different cities, the proportion of premium transactions in Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Shanghai exceeded 50%, while over 30% in Beijing, Hefei, and Chengdu, and the remaining cities generally below 20%. In contrast, although Jinan and Nanjing had the highest number of land parcels sold, the proportion of premium transactions was less than 10%; Shenyang's residential land was sold at base prices.

8. CBRE Group: Hong Kong's residential prices are stabilizing, and this trend is expected to continue at least until next Lunar New Year.

The Hong Kong Rating and Valuation Department announced today that the price index for private residential buildings in November continued to rebound, rising by 0.1% month-on-month. Executive Director of CBRE Group's Hong Kong Valuation and Consulting Services, Edward Guo, stated that as major Banks further lowered the prime interest rates, buyers continued to enter the market, supporting property prices from declining further. He continued that residential prices have stabilized after a decrease for five consecutive months, and this trend is expected to last at least until next Lunar New Year. The term of President Trump is a major uncertainty factor. Although interest rates are expected to slow in the future, developers and buyers may take a wait-and-see approach for now. Additionally, Hong Kong is currently in the holiday season, which is traditionally a slow period, and he expects the price trends will only have a clearer direction after Lunar New Year. According to the data from the Rating and Valuation Department, residential rents fell by 0.3% in November compared to the previous month. Edward Guo pointed out that since the end of the year is usually a slow season, rental prices may experience short-term adjustments due to seasonal factors, but the extent will not be significant.

9. Hebei Qinhuangdao: Withdrawable housing provident fund available for down payment.

The Hebei Qinhuangdao Housing Provident Fund Management Center issued a notice regarding the withdrawal of housing provident fund for down payment, stating that for the same house, both spouses can apply for a one-time withdrawal for down payment. Withdrawals from both spouses should be applied for simultaneously, and the total withdrawal amount should not exceed the down payment amount stipulated in the commercial housing sales contract. The amount withdrawn for down payment for this house combined with the loan amount for this house should not exceed the total price of the property.

10. Nanjing Real Estate Industry Association issued an initiative to carry out the "New Year Home Buying and Settling In Activity."

The Nanjing Real Estate Industry Association issued an initiative to carry out the "New Year Home Buying and Settling In Activity," actively implementing policy measures. From December 27, 2024, to February 28, 2025, all member units and development enterprises should actively organize the "New Year Home Buying and Settling In Activity." Make full use of the time windows during the New Year's Day and Spring Festival holidays to create a good environment for viewing and purchasing houses for the general public, effectively promoting the sale of commercial housing. Act swiftly and collaborate actively to carry out the "New Year Home Buying and Settling In Activity." It is advisable to hold housing exhibitions or organize relevant meetings at appropriate times, and the Housing Association will coordinate related resources to jointly hold promotional activities. All member units and development enterprises must actively cooperate with governments at all levels to carry out relevant publicity work, communicating policies and promoting quality housing stock in ways that the public finds appealing, emphasizing convenience, benefits, and welfare, expanding the impact of the home buying and settling in activity, and genuinely achieving the desired effects of the activity. (Nanjing Real Estate Industry Association)

11. Wuhan sold 30 pieces of land, collecting over 21 billion yuan, with multiple plots sold at a premium as the market warms up.

In Wuhan, Hubei Province, 30 various land parcels were sold for a total of 21.094 billion yuan, covering a total area of 2.4486 million square meters, and a planned total building area of 3.9513 million square meters. This is the largest land auction in Wuhan this year in terms of area and amount. Multiple projects sold at a premium demonstrate a warming market, and the Wuhan Land Trading Center stated that this auction had five parcels producing bidding premiums, adding warmth to the Wuhan land market at year-end. The Wuhan Land Trading Center indicated that many large well-known enterprises actively participated in this auction, including CHINA RES LAND, Vanke, Overseas Chinese Town, China Minmetals, and the Three Gorges Group, while private enterprises like Kerry Properties, Anhui Weixing, and Zeji Technology also showed active participation. CHINA RES LAND acquired multiple high-quality plots, and Anhui Weixing participated in bidding for several plots, ultimately achieving some gains. (The Paper)

12. US mortgage rates rise to the highest level in five months.

As we approach the end of 2024, mortgage rates in the USA have risen to the highest level in five months. According to data released by Freddie Mac on Thursday, in the last full week of 2024, the 30-year mortgage rate rose to its highest level since mid-July, averaging 6.85% as of December 26. This rate increased by 13 basis points from the previous week. A year ago, the average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.61%.