Decoding China’s Real Estate Pivot: How Beijing is Engineering a Market Rebound

Key Points

China’s real estate strategy is shifting from central mandates to localized, creative solutions, empowering cities to implement region-specific measures.
MoHURD emphasizes building “good houses” that are safe, comfortable, green, and smart, reflecting a focus on quality living spaces.
Visits to Guangdong (Guǎngdōng 广东) and Zhejiang (Zhèjiāng 浙江) showed promising results, with new commercial housing sales (by area) seeing year-on-year growth and the pre-owned market remaining active in H1.
Cities like Guangzhou (Guǎngzhōu 广州) and Shenzhen (Shēnzhèn 深圳) are leading in urban real estate financing coordination, while Ningbo (Níngbō 宁波) and Zhuhai (Zhūhǎi 珠ai) use consumer-friendly initiatives like “trade-in” programs.
The pre-owned housing market is taking a much bigger role, with its share climbing steadily and surpassing new home sales in several provinces, indicating market maturation.

MoHURD’s Four-Pronged Strategy
Pillar	Objective
Stabilize Expectations	Restore confidence among homebuyers and developers.
Stimulate Demand	Implement policies to encourage housing consumption.
Optimize Supply	Ensure balanced housing stock that meets market needs.
Mitigate Risks	Address financial and systemic risks within the sector.

China’s real estate market is getting a major, hands-on push from the government, and the strategy is shifting from top-down mandates to localized, creative solutions.

A recent deep-dive by China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MoHURD) into the key economic hubs of Guangdong (Guǎngdōng 广东) and Zhejiang (Zhèjiāng 浙江) reveals a new playbook in action.

The core mission? To build a *stable, healthy, and high-quality* property market that actually meets people’s needs.

Let’s break down what’s happening.

Beijing’s New Game Plan: From Central Command to Local Control

The central message from MoHURD’s research team is clear: local authorities need to step up and take charge.

Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, Beijing is encouraging cities and provinces to use their own regulatory power.

This means implementing region-specific and precise measures to get the job done.

The strategy is a four-pronged attack:

Stabilize expectations
Stimulate demand
Optimize supply
Mitigate risks

The end goal is to drive a much stronger recovery in the real estate sector, which has faced significant headwinds.

The “Good House” Mandate: More Than Just Four Walls

A huge part of this new strategy is the push to build “good houses.”

This isn’t just a catchy slogan. It’s a directive to developers to build homes that are:

✅ Safe
✅ Comfortable
✅ Green
✅ Smart

This shift reflects a deeper understanding of what modern Chinese buyers want—not just a property asset, but a high-quality living space.

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Boots on the Ground: What MoHURD Found in China’s Economic Hubs

Key Findings from MoHURD’s Guangdong & Zhejiang Visit (H1)
Category	Observation
New Commercial Housing Sales (by area)	Year-on-year growth observed.
Pre-owned Housing Market	Remains active and bustling.
Inventory Digestion Period (Major Cities)	Returned to a “reasonable range.”
Overall Market Sentiment	Jitters calming, stronger foundation for stability.

After meeting with local governments, experts, and real estate firms in Guangdong and Zhejiang, MoHURD confirmed that the localized approach is starting to pay off.

Both provinces have been rolling out policies to unlock housing consumption, and the results from the first half of the year are promising:

📈 New commercial housing sales (by area) saw year-on-year growth.
🏘️ The pre-owned housing market remained active and bustling.
📉 The inventory digestion period for commercial homes in major cities is back within a “reasonable range.”

These early wins are effectively calming market jitters and building a stronger foundation for stability.

City-Level Hacks: How Local Governments Are Getting Creative

City-Specific Real Estate Initiatives
City	Key Initiative(s)	Goal/Impact
Guangzhou & Shenzhen	Urban real estate financing coordination mechanisms	Channelling cash flow to projects; highest credit approvals/financing.
Ningbo & Zhuhai	“Trade-in” programs, “mortgage with transfer of ownership,” housing expos, “good housing festivals.”	Facilitating consumer transactions and stimulating demand.
Hangzhou	Linking human resources, housing, land, and capital.	Precisely balancing supply and demand for market stability.

National Real Estate Market Trends (H1)

Total Transactions (New & Pre-owned): Year-on-year increase.
“Guaranteed Delivery of Housing” Campaign: Significant progress, protecting homebuyers.
Pre-owned Housing Market Role: Expanding significantly, with share climbing steadily.
Pre-owned vs. New Home Sales: Second-hand volumes surpassed new home sales in several provinces.
Market Maturation: Activity increasingly driven by existing housing stock.

Here’s where it gets really interesting. Different cities are running their own experiments to see what works best.

Funding the Flow in Guangzhou (Guǎngzhōu 广州) and Shenzhen (Shēnzhèn 深圳):
These tech and finance hubs are leading the nation in implementing urban real estate financing coordination mechanisms. They’re getting cash flowing to the right projects, with credit approvals and financing amounts ranking among the highest in China.

Making Moves Easier in Ningbo (Níngbō 宁波) and Zhuhai (Zhūhǎi 珠海):
These cities are getting creative with consumer-friendly initiatives like “trade-in” programs and “mortgage with transfer of ownership” schemes. They’re also drumming up interest with “housing expos” and “good housing festivals” to unlock pent-up demand.

Smart Supply in Hangzhou (Hángzhōu 杭州):
The home of Alibaba is focusing on precision. Hangzhou has created a system that links human resources, housing, land, and capital. The goal is to perfectly balance supply and demand to keep the market stable.

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The Bigger Picture: A Tectonic Shift in China’s Property Market

Looking at the national picture, the “policy combination” is having an effect.

Despite a complex global economy, China saw a year-on-year increase in total new and pre-owned housing transactions in the first half of the year.

Critically, the government’s “guaranteed delivery of housing” campaign has made significant progress, protecting the rights of homebuyers who bought unfinished properties.

But the most telling trend might be this:

The pre-owned housing market is taking on a much bigger role.

The share of pre-owned home sales is climbing steadily. In several provinces, second-hand transaction volumes have already surpassed new home sales.

This signals a major maturation of the market—a new phase where activity is driven as much by existing stock as by new construction.

The takeaway? Beijing is shifting from a blunt, one-size-fits-all approach to a more nuanced, locally-driven strategy. By empowering cities and focusing on what buyers actually want, the government is making a determined push to sustain a stabilized real estate market in China.