The rental industry is accelerating its development. The path to "good housing", "good assets", and "good services" has been paved.

When the number of homebuyers decreases and renting becomes a long - term option, the market environment, products, and the stability of both supply and demand sides in the housing rental industry have become important issues that concern millions of people.

From the inclusion of "good housing" in the "Government Work Report" at the beginning of the year to the official implementation of the "Regulations on Housing Leasing" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") in September, policy advocacy and the implementation of regulations are paving the way for the healthy development of the rental market.

As China's first systematic administrative regulations on housing leasing, the "Regulations" have filled the gap in national - level regulations in this field. Dr. Chai Qiang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the President of the China Institute of Real Estate Appraisers and Agents, said at the 7th Leading International Forum on the Housing Rental Industry: "One of the purposes of formulating the 'Regulations' is to make up for the shortcoming of 'renting' and improve the housing system that combines renting and purchasing. By increasing the supply of rental housing through multiple channels, the housing rental market will become more standardized, and rental housing will be better. Coupled with policy support such as 'equal rights for renters and buyers', more and more people will choose to rent, and the rental market will have greater potential."

The implementation of the "Regulations on Housing Leasing" has promoted the transformation of the housing rental industry from a temporary supporting tool to an independent industrial entity, which has been officially included in the long - term agenda of urban governance, housing security, and industrial structure adjustment. This transformation not only brings more focused policy research, differentiated resource allocation, institutional financial support, and systematic industrial guidance to the industry but also makes its position in the real estate industry more clear and important.

In fact, the supply and demand sides of the market have been re - structured first. With the improvement of the quality and service level of rental housing, the institutionalized rental market is undergoing a transformation from a "temporary short - term choice" to a "stable long - term choice". According to the survey data of ICCRA, the proportion of family - type customers has increased from less than 10% in 2018 to 25% in 2025; the average lease term has also been extended from 9.8 months in 2022 to 11.2 months in 2025. These changes reflect the continuous growth of market demand for rental housing.

In addition, the pursuit of cost - effectiveness, sense of belonging, and living experience by the new generation of customers has further promoted the diversification and innovation of the market, prompting products and services to continuously develop in the direction of higher quality and personalization.

How to adapt to the changing demand, create good products, and improve the efficiency of rental assets? Zhao Ran, the Dean of the ICCRA Housing Rental Industry Research Institute, believes that the context of transformation lies in the four thinking dimensions covered by "good housing": physical space, functional settings, community environment, and service system.

For example, in the direction of improving the living space, some long - term rental apartment brands have introduced the idea of internet - famous check - in spots into the creation of public areas. They have reconstructed the public areas based on the popular I/E personality classification - setting up an astronomical observatory, a mini - farm, and a daze pavilion for introverts, and configuring a stage theater, a sports field, and a reception hall for extroverts. Providing differentiated scenarios in the same community allows tenants with different personalities to find their own comfort zones. From demand insight to space implementation, a perceptible sense of security and daily ritual can be formed, which can then be transformed into stronger customer stickiness and longer lease terms.

In the service space, "details" should be turned into "brands". Taking festival decorations as an example, simply placing a Christmas tree and having a systematic seasonal display convey two completely different brand signals; the former only creates an atmosphere, while the latter builds recognition and trust. Standardizing services, including festival plans, color and material specifications, interaction mechanisms, and community operations, makes the sense of warmth replicable and the quality reusable, allowing tenants' favor and sense of belonging to be transformed into word - of - mouth and the willingness to renew leases.

The implementation of policies has also promoted the flow and revitalization of assets, making it more likely for "good housing" in the rental field to become "good assets".

In June this year, the first domestic REITs for affordable rental housing, Huaxia Beijing Affordable Housing REITs, completed its expansion. Then, in September, the first domestic ABS for held - type real estate, CCB Long - term Rental ABS, also completed its expansion. With the increasing intensity of expansion, the market for affordable rental housing REITs has entered a new stage where "initial offerings" and "expansions" coexist, marking that affordable rental housing has gradually become a "good asset" recognized by the capital market.

Jiang Zhe, an executive member of the board of Cinda Capital and a member of the Real Estate Investment Special Committee of the China Insurance Asset Management Association, said that the introduction of financial innovation products such as affordable rental housing REITs and held - type real estate ABS has made rental housing gradually become a long - term allocation target recognized by the capital market, greatly enhancing the "investability" of the industry and the accessibility of capital, and providing sufficient financial support for the sustainable development of the industry.

This year's REITs products present new characteristics: "Grouping multiple projects in the same city" has become a trend. Multiple rental housing projects are injected at one time during the expansion, which improves the diversification and management efficiency of the portfolio; the urban layout is more stable, with assets mainly concentrated in first - tier and core second - tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Suzhou. New projects are mostly located in talent and affordable housing communities near convenient rail transit and industrial parks, making them easier to rent out and ensuring more stable rent collection; the rent performance is "relatively strong against the trend". Against the background of overall pressure on industry rents, the monthly rent per unit of affordable rental housing REITs still increased by 1.6% year - on - year in the second quarter, while the rent index of 16 key cities decreased by 3.5% year - on - year, indicating the anti - pressure ability and long - term value of rental housing REITs. At the same time, the parallel development of held - type real estate ABS and public REITs has further broadened the financing channels, forming a pattern where public and private financing complement each other, and providing a more solid financial foundation and a diversified financial tool system for the housing rental industry.

On the other hand, the transformation of the industry also depends on the improvement of "good services". With the development of the rental housing industry, service quality has become the core of enterprise competitiveness, and the industry is shifting from scale expansion to quality operation. Enterprises need to operate in a refined manner and enhance brand value through innovative services. For example, some long - term rental apartment brands have introduced the idea of "internet - famous check - in spots" into the design of public areas and differentiated the layout of public spaces according to the personalities of tenants: setting up an astronomical observatory, a mini - farm, and a daze pavilion for introverted tenants, and equipping a stage theater, a sports field, and a reception hall for extroverted tenants. This practice of reconstructing public areas based on population characteristics not only provides personalized living scenarios for tenants with different personalities but also promotes a comprehensive breakthrough in rental housing from hardware facilities to service experience through precise positioning and high - quality product design, further enhancing the market attractiveness and customer stickiness of the industry.

From the perspective of market trends, the development logic of the rental housing industry is shifting from "availability" to "quality" and from "ability to finance" to "ability to make continuous investments and obtain stable returns". Policy support, the entry of assets into the market, and the improvement of capital efficiency are accelerating the maturity and long - term development of the market.