Source: Securities Times
Author: Wu Jiaming
Since last year, many cities have successively adjusted their second-hand housing reference price policies. As far as the Shenzhen market is concerned, the current listing prices displayed on mainstream real estate agency platforms are still reference prices, and no other prices are shown. Previously, some intermediary platforms also flashed owners' actual listing prices, but the prices were soon dropped.
On November 2, the Shenzhen market went viral. Properties below 132,000 yuan per square meter can show the real listing price for owners!
At 9 p.m., the reporter logged on to major real estate agency platforms in Shenzhen and discovered that second-hand listings on various mainstream platforms still showed government reference prices, but only some listings whose listing prices were lower than the reference prices showed actual listing prices. Furthermore, the reporter called the supervisory authorities several times to seek evidence, but as of press time, no response had been received. The reporter will also promptly follow up on any subsequent changes in housing prices!
On February 8, 2021, Shenzhen took the lead in establishing a second-hand housing reference price publication mechanism in China, and published reference prices for 3,595 residential districts in the city. At the end of April this year, it was reported in the market that there had been a major change in the reference price policy for second-hand housing in Shenzhen, which caused a stir in the entire Shenzhen property market for a while.
At the time, the adjustment plan announced in the market was as follows: the bank's approved housing price is based on whether the online registration price or the assessed price is lower, the reference price is for reference only, etc. If banks can issue mortgage loans in strict accordance with the reference price for second-hand housing, this means that after more than two years of issuing mortgage loans in strict accordance with the reference price for second-hand housing, the pricing mechanism and loan system for second-hand housing in Shenzhen will be restructured.
At the time, among the housing prices displayed by real estate agency platforms, the government reference price on the homepage was once shown as “none,” and the actual listing price of the owner was shown. However, the prices shown in the listings were later changed back to the government reference price for second-hand housing.
Whether in terms of price or transaction volume, the impact of second-hand housing reference prices on the Shenzhen property market is very obvious. According to the latest data from the Leyoujia Research Center, more than 70% of the second-hand properties sold at Leyoujia stores from October 1 to 26 have already been sold below the government's reference price. This share is a sharp increase of 10% compared to September, and almost doubled compared to January this year.
According to reports, the past four months were the peak period for the share of properties sold in Shenzhen below the government's reference price, which has remained above 60% since July 2023. In the same period, the average price of second-hand housing transactions in Shenzhen has also continued to decline. Owners have made further concessions, and bargaining space has also increased.
Recently, there has been a steady stream of positive news in the real estate market. In addition to approving houses and denying loans, Shenzhen also lowered interest rates on home purchase loans before the Golden Week holiday. Under many favorable factors, industry insiders generally reported a slight recovery in market trading volume to a certain extent. According to data released by Leyoujia Research Center, in terms of the second-hand housing market, 2,774 housing units were transferred in Shenzhen in October, up 16% from the previous month, close to the level of May this year, but there is still a big gap from Xiaoyangchun in March. The Leyoujia Research Center believes that similar to a new home, the second-hand housing transaction process is long, and the transfer data is lagging even more. The October transfer data is more a reflection of the third quarter's transaction orders, and also verifies that the second-hand property market has improved under the stimulus of the new policy. Also, according to data disclosed by the Shenzhen Real Estate Agents Association, the volume of second-hand housing listings in Shenzhen continues to rise. As of October 30, a total of 58,179 valid second-hand properties were on sale in Shenzhen, an increase of 235 over last week.
Some industry insiders said that currently Shenzhen is a buyer's market, and owners' listings continue to rise sharply, reflecting the decline in owners' expectations for the future. The recovery in turnover also shows that owners are gradually accepting reality and selling at reduced prices. Buyers are more likely to wait and see; only if the price is low enough will they get their hands on it.
During the visit, the reporter discovered that in the current deep market game, buyers and sellers are watching, repeating, and hesitating, including expectations for policy adjustments. “Currently, expectations for the implementation of the market policy are still uncertain. Buyers and buyers are afraid of stepping on shortfalls and are hesitant. This has also reduced our enthusiasm to watch and sell.” A real estate agency manager said.
Guan Rongxue, a senior analyst at the Zhuge Data Research Center, said that up to now, Guangzhou and Shanghai have implemented some purchase restrictions on the general commercial housing market among first-tier cities. Although the overall loosening is less, showing a trend of marginal relaxation, the policy orientation is more obvious. First-tier cities still have room or possibility to relax. In addition, the current real estate market sentiment is still low, and the recovery is still under pressure, and the leading role of first-tier cities needs to continue to gain strength.
editor/tolk