On October 24, the Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning, and the Suzhou Supervision Branch of the State Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau officially issued implementation opinions on the implementation of the "Notice on Improving the Commercial Housing Sales System" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"). This is Jiangsu’s first implementation opinion on the “828 New Deal”.

The "Opinions" are based on the principle of distinguishing the old from the new: for commercial housing projects that have newly announced the transfer of state-owned construction land use rights after August 28, the application for pre-sale must reach the single unit cap, and the pre-sale funds shall be subject to full and full-process supervision; priority will be given to guiding the sales of existing houses, and the deposit shall not exceed 3% of the total price in principle; mortgage loans must be issued after the project is completed and registered.

The supporting package allows the land payment to be paid in installments and interest-free within two years, establishes a host bank system, and sets a transition period for projects in progress. Projects in progress that meet the original policy conditions are allowed to apply for a letter of guarantee from the bank to replace funds within the regulatory quota, forming a closed loop of the system of "capped pre-sale - fund supervision - existing housing priority".

On the one hand, this new policy is conducive to the mandatory binding of home purchase payment nodes with the physical progress of the project, institutionally compressing the chain of transmission of "unfinished risks" to home buyers, and helping to repair the most scarce factor of trust in the current market; on the other hand, the sales of existing homes are prioritized and aligned with the construction orientation of "good houses", forcing real estate companies to form a complete closed loop in planning, construction, and delivery. In the long run, it will provide strong support for the stable, healthy, and high-quality development of the Suzhou real estate market.

In addition, designs such as interest-free payment of land payments within two years and transitional arrangements for projects in progress have left room for cash flow for real estate companies and reduced the disruption to short-term supply caused by mode switching. (Jin Ke, senior analyst at the Suzhou Branch of China Index Research Institute)

Editor in charge: Li Xia