Guangzhou's real estate market makes another move: The "sell old, buy new" program offers a maximum subsidy of 30,000 yuan, with 1,000 spots available each quarter.

At the end of April, Guangzhou issued the "Implementation Opinions on Further Promoting the Stable and Healthy Development of the Real Estate Market" (hereinafter referred to as the "Eight Measures of Guangzhou"). In less than a month, Guangzhou launched a supporting document to further implement the content of the "Eight Measures of Guangzhou".

On May 26, Guangzhou held a press conference on a series of supporting documents for the "Eight Measures of Guangzhou". A reporter from Times Weekly learned that after the introduction of the "Eight Measures of Guangzhou", the policy effects have been continuously released, and market activity has been continuously increasing.

Data shows that since May, the weekly visitor volume, subscription volume, and online signing volume of key new residential projects in Guangzhou have increased by 26.9%, 36.9%, and 11.4% respectively compared with the previous period; the weekly signing volume of second - hand residential properties has increased by 9.3%. The new housing provident fund policy has taken effect. A total of 4,484 loans have been accepted, with an amount of 4.746 billion yuan, an increase of 47.05% and 56.43% respectively compared with the same period last year.

Huang Guanglie, the deputy secretary - general of the Guangzhou Municipal Government, said that in the future, the two major systems of the housing market and housing security will be continuously improved, and measures for real estate market regulation will be continuously optimized. Efforts will be made to build a new pattern of real estate development featuring "diversified supply, reasonable layout, standardized supervision, and stable operation" to effectively promote comfortable and high - quality housing for all.

Subsidy of 200 million yuan for "Selling Old and Buying New"

At the press conference on that day, Guangzhou announced a number of detailed rules, including setting clear standards for state - owned enterprises to purchase second - hand residential properties through market - based means, comprehensively upgrading the conversion of commercial loans to provident fund loans to allow combined loans, and simultaneously relaxing restrictions on the number of housing units and loan times to precisely support the housing needs of first - time homebuyers and those looking to improve their housing conditions.

Qian Zhe, the general manager of Guangzhou Anju Group, mentioned when introducing the pilot rules for state - owned enterprises to purchase second - hand residential properties that a pilot program for "selling old and buying new" will be launched, with a trial period until December 31, 2026. The criteria for the properties to be purchased are as follows: second - hand residential properties within the Guangzhou Ring Expressway, with a total price of less than 3 million yuan, a construction area of less than 70 square meters, regardless of the building age, and the property rights should be clear, without mortgage or seizure, and without safety hazards.

Meanwhile, the purchase price will be based on the market transaction price, and a mechanism of "two appraisals + negotiation and confirmation" will be implemented. A third - party professional institution will conduct the initial inquiry appraisal and re - appraisal, and then negotiate with the residents to determine the final price to ensure fair and reasonable pricing. Residents are required to purchase a new commercial residential property within the administrative area of Guangzhou within 180 natural days after the completion of the second - hand residential property transaction.

The purchased old properties will be preferentially used for affordable housing, talent apartments, etc., mainly to meet the housing needs of new urban residents, young people, and for the relocation of residents in urban self - renewal projects.

Another point that has attracted significant attention is the special subsidy for "selling old and buying new".

The "Eight Measures of Guangzhou" propose eight measures, including increasing the maximum loan amount to 3.6 million yuan for two or more people jointly applying for a loan to purchase the same self - occupied housing under relevant conditions, and providing a maximum subsidy of 30,000 yuan for "selling old and buying new".

Huang Chengjun, a member of the Party group, deputy director, and second - level inspector of the Guangzhou Housing and Urban - Rural Development Bureau, introduced that the "Eight Measures of Guangzhou" propose to issue a special subsidy of 200 million yuan for "selling old and buying new" to smooth the replacement chain of new and second - hand housing. The bureau recently issued the "Notice on Matters Concerning the Special Subsidy for 'Selling Old and Buying New' of Commercial Housing", which clarifies the application conditions, subsidy standards, application process, and distribution plan.

Regarding the application conditions, applicants must meet three conditions simultaneously: First, purchase a new commercial residential property within the administrative area of the city and complete the online contract signing between April 30, 2026, and December 31, 2026; Second, complete the transfer registration of a second - hand residential property in the city under their own name within one year before or after the online signing of the new commercial residential property, that is, it supports both "selling first and then buying" and "buying first and then selling"; Third, apply for a mortgage loan for the purchase of a new commercial residential property and complete the mortgage registration.

Regarding the subsidy standards, if the total loan amount for an individual to purchase a new commercial residential property does not exceed 3 million yuan, a subsidy of 1% of the total loan amount will be given; if the total loan amount reaches or exceeds 3 million yuan, a maximum subsidy of 30,000 yuan per new commercial residential property will be given. Only one subsidy will be given for one new commercial residential property.

It should be noted that according to tax laws and regulations, personal income tax needs to be withheld from the subsidy funds.

How will the subsidy be distributed? A reporter from Times Weekly learned at the press conference that considering that both "selling first and then buying" and "buying first and then selling" take a certain amount of time, the subsidy will be distributed quarterly. A total of 7 batches will be distributed from June 2026 to December 2027. The first to the sixth batches will each have 1,000 quotas, and the application deadline for each quarter is 24:00 on the last day of the last month of the quarter. The seventh batch will appropriately increase the number of distribution quotas based on the actual situation of the carried - over quota, and the subsidy funds will stop being distributed once they are used up.

The Guangzhou Real Estate Market Stabilizes

Since the beginning of this year, the Guangzhou real estate market has generally shown positive characteristics of "stabilizing volume and price, optimizing structure, and reducing inventory".

The housing price index of 70 large and medium - sized cities released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in March and April this year, the month - on - month index of the sales price of new residential properties in Guangzhou was 100.3 and 100.1 respectively, and the month - on - month index of the sales price of second - hand residential properties has continuously remained at 100.2. The housing price indices of both new and second - hand residential properties have increased month - on - month for two consecutive months, and the housing price trend is becoming more stable.

Especially after the introduction of the "Eight Measures of Guangzhou", the transaction heat of the new and second - hand housing markets in Guangzhou has continued to rise, and the activity of the real estate market has significantly recovered.

"During the May Day holiday, it was obvious that there were more people looking at houses." Xiao Lin, a real estate agent in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, told a reporter from Times Weekly that one had to queue up to enter the new residential projects in the urban area of Guangzhou, and some low - priced second - hand housing sources were also selling well.

Some real estate agents also said that recently, the number of customers inquiring about the "Eight Measures of Guangzhou", provident fund, and "trading in old housing for new" has increased significantly. Many customers who originally planned to buy a three - bedroom apartment have adjusted their budgets and directly upgraded to a four - bedroom apartment due to the increase in the loanable amount and the reduction of the down - payment pressure.

The sales data disclosed by Poly Development and Yuexiu Property, two major local leading real estate enterprises, show that all real estate products are in a hot - selling situation.

Among them, Poly Haoyun, the first newly opened project after the release of the "Eight Measures of Guangzhou", received more than 700 groups of subscriptions in the pre - sale period. In the first opening, 324 units were sold, with a de - stocking rate of 96%, a subscription amount of about 1.82 billion yuan, and an average transaction price of about 59,700 yuan per square meter.

Yuexiu Property said that after the introduction of the "Eight Measures of Guangzhou", during the May Day holiday alone, its sales in Guangzhou reached 2.2 billion yuan, with 500 units sold. All product lines, including luxury houses, improved housing, and first - time homebuyer housing, were in hot - selling situations, and high - end luxury houses and core - area properties performed outstandingly.

Data from the Guangzhou Housing and Urban - Rural Development Bureau shows that during the May Day holiday this year, the average daily subscription volume of new residential projects in Guangzhou reached 634 units, a significant increase of 50.1% compared with the same period last year.

Huang Guanglie said that with the full implementation of the above - mentioned detailed rules and the coordinated promotion of various sectors, he is confident that the stable and positive trend of the Guangzhou real estate market will be further consolidated.

This article is from the WeChat official account “Times Weekly” (ID: timeweekly), author: Ma Huan, published by 36Kr with authorization.