A notice released on Friday laid out reforms to China’s home sales system, telling local governments to prioritise completed-home sales. It was jointly issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA).
Two other documents released the same day dealt with property sector financing. The central bank and the NFRA set out new rules on development loans, while the securities regulator said it would support listed developers in mergers and restructurings.
“The policies announced today are stronger than what the market expected,” said Zhang Zhiwei, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
The housing notice called for the “vigorous and orderly” roll-out of completed-home sales. Projects on newly transferred land, as well as those on land already sold but without a construction planning permit, should prioritise the completed-home sales model, it said. Projects already holding permits were also encouraged to adopt it.