住建部新闻发布会精神解读：“两个增加”政策超预期，但专项债效果待观察

Core Insights - The report emphasizes the importance of the real estate sector as a key variable affecting China's economy and capital markets, highlighting a significant decline in new residential sales since 2021 [2][3] - The recent policy measures introduced by the government, including "four cancellations, four reductions, and two increases," aim to stabilize the real estate market and restore confidence [3][5] Policy Measures - "Four cancellations" include the removal of purchase restrictions, sales restrictions, price limits, and the differentiation between ordinary and non-ordinary residential standards [3][6] - "Four reductions" involve lowering housing provident fund loan rates, reducing down payment ratios for first and second homes to 15%, lowering existing loan rates, and reducing tax burdens for home exchanges [3][6] - "Two increases" consist of implementing 1 million new urban village and dilapidated housing renovations through monetary compensation and increasing the credit scale for "white list" projects to 4 trillion yuan by the end of the year [3][6] Financial Support - The report indicates that the credit scale for "white list" projects will be significantly increased to 4 trillion yuan, which is expected to provide liquidity support to struggling real estate companies and facilitate the completion of ongoing projects [7][8] - As of October 16, 2023, loans approved for "white list" projects reached 2.23 trillion yuan, with expectations for this amount to double by the end of 2024 [8][10] Market Response - Following the announcement of these policies, there has been a notable increase in real estate activity during the National Day holiday, with significant year-on-year increases in new home transactions in major cities [5][6] - The report notes that the measures taken are expected to alleviate inventory pressure in the real estate market and stimulate demand for new housing [11][15] Special Debt Utilization - The report discusses the use of special bonds for acquiring existing residential properties to be used as affordable housing, emphasizing that this policy will be implemented at the discretion of local governments [17][18] - The effectiveness of this special debt model is still under observation, particularly regarding the balance between project financing returns and costs [18][19] Tax Policy Adjustments - The report mentions ongoing research by the Ministry of Finance to clarify tax policies related to ordinary and non-ordinary residential properties, which may help release demand for improved housing [19][20]