What’s new: In a renewed push to support the ailing housing market, China’s top financial regulators are encouraging banks to provide stronger financial support to developers and operators of long-term rental housing.
In guidelines released by the central bank and the National Financial Regulatory Administration on Friday, the regulators called for support for the construction, conversion, and operation of long-term rental housing to increase the supply of affordable and commercial rental units.
The focus should be on solving housing problems in big cities, especially those of new citizens — people who’ve recently relocated to the city — and young people, the guidelines said.
Commercial banks should meet the reasonable financing needs of different entities in the rental housing market, including developers, operators, and companies that buy housing to use as rental units for their employees, according to the guidelines.
They should do so while following laws and regulations, controlling risks and adhering to the principle of commercial sustainability, the guidelines said.
Policy banks should provide financing for the construction and operation of affordable rental housing within their own business scope, the guidelines said.
The guidelines also encourage financial and wealth management institutions to invest in rental housing-related products.
The guidelines will go into effect on Feb. 5.
The background: Policymakers in China have been rolling out all kinds of measures to try to juice up the country’s property market, which has been in a slump since mid-2021.
The campaign to support the housing market intensified in July last year, when a meeting of the Politburo, the country’s top decision-making body chaired by President Xi Jinping, called for property policies to be adjusted and improved to “facilitate the steady and sound development of the real estate market.”
Contact reporter Zhang Yukun (yukunzhang@caixin.com)
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