On the afternoon of May 17, 2024, the Information Office of the State Council held a regular briefing on the policies of the State Council, at which the responsible persons of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the People's Bank of China, and the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration introduced the relevant policies for ensuring the delivery of housing. Let's take a look -
Central Bank: Launched four policy measures
The first is to set up a 300 billion yuan re-loan for affordable housing. Encourage and guide financial institutions to follow the principles of marketization and rule of law to support local state-owned enterprises to purchase completed and unsold commercial housing at a reasonable price for placement or rental affordable housing, which is expected to drive bank loans of 500 billion yuan.
The second is to reduce the minimum down payment ratio of personal housing loans at the national level, adjusting the minimum down payment ratio for the first home from no less than 20% to not less than 15%, and the minimum down payment ratio for the second home from no less than 30% to not less than 25%.
The third is to cancel the lower limit of the interest rate policy for personal housing loans at the national level. The interest rate of the first home and the second home loan will no longer set the policy lower limit, and the mortgage interest rate will be marketized.
After the adjustment of the above-mentioned down payment ratio and mortgage interest rate policy, all localities can independently determine the minimum down payment ratio and the lower limit of the mortgage interest rate for the first and second homes in their jurisdictions according to the city's policies, and may no longer set the lower limit of the interest rate.
Fourth, the interest rate of housing provident fund loans of various maturities was lowered by 0.25 percentage points. After the adjustment, the interest rate of the personal housing provident fund loan for the first house of more than five years is 2.85%, which can better meet the housing needs of the housing provident fund depositors.
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development: Let the people get the houses that have passed the acceptance as agreed in the contract
It is necessary to take the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of home buyers as the fundamental starting point and end point, and adhere to the principles of marketization and rule of law. We will adhere to the people-centered development philosophy, take multiple measures at the same time, classify and dispose of, do a good job in the battle of ensuring the delivery of commercial housing projects, prevent the risk of unfinished, and promote the delivery of projects on time and with good quality, so that the people can get the houses that have passed the acceptance as agreed in the contract. For those who are still unable to deliver the house after exhausting all means, those who should take the judicial route should take the judicial route, and the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of the buyer should also be put in the first place in the judicial disposal.
Ministry of Natural Resources: Support local governments to recover and acquire idle residential land at reasonable prices
The Ministry of Natural Resources is preparing to introduce policies and measures to properly dispose of idle land and revitalize the stock of land, and support local governments to properly dispose of the idle stock of residential land that has been transferred by means of recovery and acquisition as appropriate, so as to help enterprises solve their difficulties. At the same time, it promotes the economical and intensive use of land, prevents and resolves risks, and helps the high-quality development of real estate. There are two main lines: one line is to strictly dispose of idle land in accordance with the law, and the other line is to increase support for the revitalization and utilization of stock land. The specific policy highlights can be briefly summarized in the following three aspects:
- The first is to support the optimization and development of enterprises. The main purpose is to eliminate obstacles to development and construction, reasonably exempt from liability for breach of contract caused by natural disasters and epidemics, and allow enterprises to reasonably adjust planning conditions and design requirements in accordance with procedures to better meet market demand.
- The second is to promote market circulation and transfer. It is mainly to give full play to the role of the secondary market of land, support the transfer of advance registration and "transfer with mortgage", and encourage transfer or cooperative development.
- The third is to support local governments to recover land at reasonable prices. The main purpose is to support local governments to recover idle land at a reasonable price in accordance with the principle of "purchasing according to demand" for the construction of affordable housing. Localities are allowed to adopt a parallel "repossession-supply" approach to simplify procedures, handle planning and land supply procedures, and better provide facilitation services.
Central Bank: Support local state-owned enterprises to purchase completed and unsold commercial housing at a reasonable price
The People's Bank of China (PBoC) will provide low-cost re-lending funds to encourage 21 national banking institutions to issue loans to local state-owned enterprises selected by the city government in accordance with the principle of marketization, and support the acquisition of completed and unsold commercial housing at reasonable prices for use as affordable housing. The main points of this policy are as follows:
- First, the scale of refinancing for affordable housing is 300 billion yuan, with an interest rate of 1.75%, a term of one year, and a period of four extensions, which includes 21 national banks such as the China Development Bank, policy banks, state-owned commercial banks, postal savings banks, and joint-stock commercial banks. Banks issue loans in accordance with the principle of independent decision-making and assumption of risk. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) will issue re-loans at 60% of the loan principal, which can drive bank loans of 500 billion yuan.
- Second, the acquired commercial housing is strictly limited to the commercial housing that has been completed and unsold by the real estate enterprise, and the real estate enterprises under different ownership systems are treated equally. In accordance with the principle that affordable housing is used to meet the rigid housing needs of wage and salary income groups, the house type and area standards of the purchased commercial housing should be strictly grasped.
- Third, the city government selects local state-owned enterprises as the acquisition entity. The state-owned enterprise and its affiliated group shall not be involved in the hidden debts of the local government, shall not be a local government financing platform, and shall have bank credit requirements and credit space, and shall be promptly placed or leased after acquisition.
- Fourth, voluntary participation. The city government decides whether to participate or not based on factors such as local demand for affordable housing and the inventory level of commercial housing. Wage earners who meet the conditions for protection can choose whether to participate in the placement or leasing at their own discretion. The real estate enterprise negotiates on an equal footing with the acquirer and decides whether to sell on its own. In accordance with the principles of risk-bearing and business sustainability, 21 banks made their own decisions on whether to issue loans to the acquirer.
The People's Bank of China will issue an official document on the above policy in the near future, which is the Notice on Matters Concerning the Establishment of Affordable Housing Reloans.
State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration: The "white list" projects of real estate enterprises under different ownership systems should be treated equally, and all loans should be exhausted
Meet the reasonable financing needs of real estate enterprises and real estate projects under different ownership without discrimination, treat real estate enterprises and real estate projects under different ownership equally, and make reasonable assessments and actively support them in accordance with the principles of marketization and rule of law.
- Establish a green channel. Banks are required to optimize the loan approval and disbursement process, appropriately delegate approval authority, speed up lending, and manage project access, rating, credit grant, post-loan and other aspects separately, and allow separate credit lines. At the same time, it is also necessary to formulate specific rules for due diligence and exemption, and exempt grassroots banks and relevant employees from liability if they have performed their duties diligently in accordance with the requirements, as well as those who have incurred risks in loans due to force majeure factors.
- Make sure you can borrow as much as you can. The "white list" projects of real estate enterprises with different ownership systems are treated equally. On the premise of controlling risks, financing support can be provided in a variety of ways, such as new loans, extension of existing loans, and issuance of M&A loans. The loan amount should match the construction cycle of the project, cover the funding gap for the completion and delivery of the project, promote the completion and delivery of the project, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of buyers.
- The "white list" projects are separately accounted for, and the operation and management are closed, and the funds between the projects are not mixed, and the project funds are strictly prohibited from being diverted for other purposes, so as to ensure that the funds are used to ensure delivery. Commercial banks should strictly examine the use and flow of credit funds, and agree with the borrower to open a project fund supervision account with the lending bank to ensure that project capital, loan issuance, payment and disbursement, and loan repayment are handled through the project fund supervision account. The pre-sale fund supervision account of the "white list" project should be opened with the host bank.
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development: Classified disposal of housing projects, do not let those who violate laws and regulations "golden cicadas out of their shells"
In accordance with the principles of marketization and rule of law, the city government should guide the project development enterprise to formulate a disposal plan of "one project and one policy". Marketization is to include eligible projects, or projects that can take market-oriented measures to improve conditions, into the "white list" to provide financing support and promote project construction delivery. The rule of law is to promote the insolvent project to enter the judicial disposal procedure, the bankruptcy of the bankruptcy, and the reorganization of the reorganization. In the disposal, it is necessary to put the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of the buyers in the first place. In this process, it is necessary to resolutely investigate and deal with all kinds of violations of laws and regulations in accordance with the law, and not allow those who violate laws and regulations to "break out of their shells" and not allow acts that harm the interests of the masses to get through in the dark.
The central bank: the rental housing loan support program will be incorporated into the affordable housing refinancing policy
In 2023, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) will set up a rental housing loan support program to support eight cities, including Jinan and Zhengzhou, to pilot market-oriented bulk purchase of housing stock and expand the supply of rental housing. Over the past year, the pilot project has been implemented in eight cities in an orderly manner, and a commercial and sustainable rental business model has taken shape, which has played a positive role in digesting the stock of housing. Taking into account the policy convergence as a whole, the rental housing loan support plan will be integrated into the affordable housing refinancing policy for management, which will be fully promoted nationwide.
Review: Huang Cheng
Reviewer: Wang Xiao
Editor: Yan Yangli
Source: Chinese government website
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