Shenzhen joins Chinese local governments taking unsold homes off developers’ hands
- City is first tier-1 metropolis to heed Beijing’s call to help bail out property developers by securing affordable housing stock
Shenzhen Public Housing Group, backed by the city’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said it plans to purchase unsold homes from enterprises as backup affordable housing, according to a notice on its official WeChat account late on Wednesday.
Homes, flats and staff accommodations of up to 65 square metres in size will be considered under the scheme, but whole buildings will have priority. The scheme will continue until October 31, according to the notice.
The move comes almost three months after Chinese authorities announced a historic rescue package in May, including a 300 billion yuan (US$42 billion) relending fund for local state-owned enterprises to buy unsold homes for use as affordable housing.
Ten Chinese cities, including central municipality Chongqing, southern Yunnan province capital Kunming, and Dalian in northeastern Liaoning province, have introduced such schemes, according to property think tank China Index Academy. Shenzhen, China’s technology hub, is the first of the country’s four first-tier cities – Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are the others – to take such a step.
In Beijing last month, a property agent association launched a pilot programme, under advisement from the city’s housing bureau, to encourage homeowners to swap old homes for new ones. Under the scheme, homeowners can pre-order a new home, and the association will help them sell their current home. Cash from the sale of the old home goes to the new home’s developer as a down payment.