What signal is being released?, Heavyweight! Chongqing's "three no personnel" first ordinary housing is exempt from property tax

Following the temporary suspension of real estate tax legislation, Chongqing has made reductions in the scope of property tax collection.

On the 20th, Chongqing Municipal People's Government issued the Decision of Chongqing Municipal People's Government on Amending the Interim Measures of Chongqing Municipality on the Pilot Reform of the Levy of Real Estate Tax on Some Individual Houses and the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Administration of the Levy of Real Estate Tax on Individual Houses in Chongqing, which clearly changed the tax target from "the first and more ordinary houses newly purchased by individuals who have no registered residence registration, no enterprise, and no job in Chongqing" to "the second and more ordinary houses newly purchased by individuals who have no registered residence registration, no enterprise, and no job in Chongqing".

Experts say that this Chongqing policy represents a relaxation direction in the field of property tax. This is the third type of important policy relaxation after the cancellation of housing, loan, and purchase restrictions in various regions, which has strong signal significance.

"Three no" personnel no longer need to pay 0.5% property tax on housing prices

According to the new policy, starting from September 20th this year, the above-mentioned "three no's" individuals who purchase their first ordinary housing in the nine districts of the main city of Chongqing are no longer required to pay a property tax of 0.5% on the housing price.

Yan Yuejin, the research director of E-House Research Institute, told Shanghai Securities News that in the past, property tax was levied on the first-time home purchases of Chongqing's "three no" individuals. The first home will no longer be expropriated, only the second home will be expropriated. This indicates that a relaxed policy orientation has been implemented for the subscription of the first home.

From a broad interpretation, property tax falls within the scope of real estate tax. The former is levied on real estate, while the latter refers to all taxes directly related to the process of real estate economic movement, including real estate business tax, urban real estate tax, stamp duty, land value-added tax, etc. However, industry insiders believe that in a narrow context, although the two that have been hotly discussed in recent years are nominally different, they are actually the same thing.

In January 2011, Shanghai and Chongqing began piloting property tax. Among them, Chongqing's tax targets for individual housing include both high-end residential individuals and those with a tendency to speculate on real estate, which is known as "three no" individuals.

"This Chongqing policy represents a relaxation direction in the field of property tax. This is the third important type of policy relaxation after various regions' recognition of houses but not loans' and the cancellation of purchase restrictions, which has strong signal significance." Yan Yuejin said.

Real estate tax legislation suspended

In the recently released legislative plan for the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee, there was no mention of the highly anticipated legislation on real estate tax, which also means that the legislation on real estate tax is temporarily suspended.

In the Legislative Plan of the 13th Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in September 2018, the real estate tax law was included in the first category of projects, which is a relatively mature legal draft that is intended to be submitted for review during the term of office. However, during the term of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress, the real estate tax law was not submitted for review; In this legislative plan, real estate tax was not even mentioned again.

During this period, the sales revenue of the national real estate market dropped from 18.7 trillion yuan in 2020 to 13 trillion yuan in 2022, setting a new 6-year low. The supply and demand relationship in the real estate market has undergone significant changes. This is the latest judgment by the central government on the direction of the national real estate market.

Wang Yongjun, Dean of the Institute of Finance and Economics at Central University of Finance and Economics, believes that legislation to introduce new taxes needs to be carried out at an appropriate time, especially the widely and far-reaching real estate tax. The current economic situation is not suitable, and any measures to increase the burden should be taken with extra caution. In addition, real estate tax also involves many unresolved theoretical and practical issues.

"This policy adjustment in Chongqing also indicates that the reform of real estate tax will be more cautious. In the current special period of real estate, there is no mention of levying real estate tax. There will also be no mention of increasing taxes for various reasonable housing needs in the future. Overall, various policies are being promoted towards reducing housing costs and encouraging the active release of housing demand." Yan Yuejin said.

Making a fuss? Shenzhen Second hand Housing, Surprise Listing Price!

On the morning of September 21st, a reporter from Shanghai Securities News checked the official website of Leyoujia and found that the listing prices of second-hand houses in Shenzhen were more than 30% higher than the reference price.

Taking Huangpu Yayuan in Futian District, Shenzhen as an example, the listed price of a property is 128031 yuan/square meter, and the government's reference unit price is 93100 yuan/square meter.

The Shanghai Securities News reporter noticed that it has been two and a half years since Shenzhen launched the government reference price. However, on platforms such as Lianjia and Anjuke, only the government reference price of second-hand houses in Shenzhen can be seen.

Strangely, on the afternoon of September 21st, the listed price of the same property in Leyoujia was consistent with the government's reference price, both of which were 93100 yuan/square meter.

"In the morning, I was debugging the system." A salesperson from Leyoujia was interviewed by reporters and also noticed the above situation on the morning of September 21st. I was very surprised and asked Leyoujia's backend to learn that it was a system problem.

The salesperson from Leyoujia mentioned above explained that due to the frequent policies in the real estate market in various regions recently, many consumers have expectations, and the market is also circulating that the listing prices of second-hand houses in Shenzhen will be lifted.

Recently, there have been frequent policies in the real estate market in many parts of China. Guangzhou and Shenzhen announced on August 30th that they will implement the policy of "recognizing houses but not loans".

The above-mentioned situation in Shenzhen has attracted attention, mainly due to Guangzhou announcing the relaxation of purchase restrictions on the evening of September 20th. Except for the central urban area and Nansha District, other regions have lifted purchase restrictions, becoming the first city in China to partially lift purchase restrictions.

Partial platform trial listing price

The disappearance of listed prices in the Shenzhen second-hand housing market can be traced back to February 8, 2021.

At that time, Shenzhen announced the establishment of a second-hand housing transaction reference price release mechanism, which included 3595 residential areas. The housing listings on major real estate trading platforms could only display government reference prices.

The implementation of reference prices for second-hand housing transactions has a huge impact on the market.

The listing price for a house is 5 million yuan, but the government guidance price is 4.6 million yuan. Based on a 30% down payment, the former pays 1.5 million yuan and the latter pays 1.38 million yuan.

If the bank lends money according to the government's guidance price, consumers will need to pay an additional 120000 yuan to purchase the aforementioned second-hand house, in order to gather a down payment of 1.5 million yuan.

Due to the government reference price being linked to bank loans, the transaction volume of Shenzhen's second-hand housing market has significantly declined.

According to data from Shenzhen Zhongyuan, in January 2023, the transaction volume of second-hand houses in Shenzhen was 1391, setting a new low in the past nine months. In the following months, the market trading volume increased.

By comparison, the trading volume has basically returned to before May 2021, but there is still a significant gap compared to the trading volume before the implementation of the reference price.

It has been two and a half years now, and the prices of second-hand houses in Shenzhen have reappeared.

The reporter noticed that after some trading platforms launched government reference prices in Shenzhen, there was also a situation with Leyoujia on the morning of September 21, where not only were second-hand houses listed at prices, but also the listed prices exceeded the government reference prices.

Taking Huangpu Yayuan Community in Futian District, Shenzhen as an example, a second-hand house of about 80 square meters has a listed price of 97044 yuan per square meter, a government reference price of 93100 yuan per square meter, and a premium of 3944 yuan per square meter.

However, the listed prices of second-hand houses in Shenzhen mentioned above only appear on some platforms such as Leyoujia. When checking real estate trading platforms such as Lianjia and Anjuke, the transaction prices of second-hand houses are currently only government reference prices.

On the afternoon of September 21st, the official website of Leyoujia showed that the reference price for the above-mentioned second-hand houses in Shenzhen has been consistent with the government's reference price.

The sales staff of Leyoujia were also surprised by this, and upon inquiring with Leyoujia's backend, they learned that the system was being debugged.

However, some real estate trading platforms were previously seen as "testing the waters".

The salesperson from Leyoujia mentioned above stated that some real estate trading platforms have previously introduced listed prices for second-hand houses in Shenzhen, and the prices have exceeded the government's reference prices. "Some are system debugging, while others want to try the wind direction."

The second-hand housing market is recovering

According to online signature data monitored by Shenzhen Zhongyuan Research Center, from September 11th to 17th, a total of 479 new residential properties were sold in Shenzhen, an increase of 26.4% compared to the previous period; The total area is 48482 square meters, an increase of 27.0% compared to the previous period.

According to data from the Shenzhen Real Estate Intermediary Association, from September 11th to 17th, Shenzhen recorded a transaction volume of 892 second-hand houses, a month on month increase of 10.1%, and the recorded volume of second-hand houses continued to rise.

According to monitoring data from Shenzhen Shell Research Institute, in the past half month, the viewing volume of second-hand houses in Shenzhen has increased by 74% month on month, the transaction volume has increased by 62% month on month, and the number of new customers has increased by more than 28%.

The recovery of Shenzhen's real estate market is related to recent policies.

The Shenzhen Housing and Construction Bureau previously issued a document stating that the implementation of the housing and non loan recognition policy in Shenzhen from August 31 is to better meet the rigid and improved housing needs of Shenzhen residents.

September 2nd to 3rd is the first weekend of Shenzhen's implementation of house recognition but not loan recognition. Longhu Group has one property for sale in Guangming District and Longgang District of Shenzhen, and many property buyers come to inquire about housing information on weekends.

The picture shows a real estate development of Longhu Group located in Guangming District, Shenzhen from September 2nd to 3rd

Among them, Longhu Group is located in Guangming District, Shenzhen, with a building area of approximately 80 square meters, 89 square meters, 106 square meters, and 120 square meters for sale.

On September 5th, the reporter visited multiple real estate projects in Futian District, Shenzhen and saw that the popularity of viewing properties has rebounded. From 10am to 11am on the same day, in a real estate marketing center mainly consisting of small units for basic needs, people watching houses on site were already sitting in the marketing center lobby.

The interest rate for second home loans in a city with a population of millions has been raised!

There has been an adjustment in the credit interest rate for a second home in another location.

Recently, a reporter from Shanghai Securities News learned from within the industry that banks in Suzhou, with a population of over ten million permanent residents, have made adjustments to the interest rates for second home loans. For homebuyers who have not settled their first home loan interest rates, the interest rate for second home loans has increased from 4.4% to 4.5%, and the interest rate has increased from LPR+20 basis points to LPR+30 basis points.

"A week ago, when the mortgage was not fully paid off, the lowest interest rate for second home buyers was 4.4%. However, it has recently been adjusted to 4.5%, which is only a" fine-tuning "at the bank level and cannot be seen as a direction for policy tightening." Keli Su Chang's regional general manager, Gowen Wen, told reporters that if the Suzhou real estate market recovers poorly in the future, there may be further adjustments and relaxation policies introduced. ".

"The market changes as soon as it changes. Last week, the bank just adjusted, and now first-time and second home buyers who have already paid off their first home loans can still enjoy a 4.0% interest rate. However, second home buyers who have not paid off their first home loans can only borrow at a 4.5% interest rate." Beike Zhaofang, a real estate intermediary in Suzhou, told reporters.

According to multiple banks, if the first home loan is not settled, the current interest rate for the second home loan is 4.5%. "The interest rate for second home loans has indeed been adjusted recently. Starting from the 16th, our bank's executed interest rate for second home loans is 4.5%, while the interest rate for first home loans is still 4.0%," a person from a personal loan center in Suzhou, China Merchants Bank told reporters today.

Regarding the Suzhou second home mortgage policy, Yan Yuejin, the research director of E-House Research Institute, told reporters that there are currently two different loan models: for homebuyers who have already repaid their loans, the second home loan can be treated as the first home and can enjoy preferential loan interest rates for the first home; For homebuyers who have not fully repaid their loans, purchasing a second home will be based on the second home interest rate policy.

The current difference in loan models is mainly due to the implementation of the "house recognition but not loan recognition" policy in Suzhou, Jiangsu in early September. When a resident family applies for a loan to purchase commercial housing, regardless of whether they have used the loan to purchase housing in Suzhou, banking and financial institutions will implement the housing credit policy for their first home.

"Even if there is an adjustment in interest rates in Suzhou this time, it cannot be said to be very strict." Yan Yuejin said that because the current interest rate for second home loans in Suzhou is LPR+30 basis points, which is not much different from the requirement of the lower limit of the central bank's second home interest rate policy not lower than LPR+20 basis points, it is still a relatively loose policy overall.

Local regulations need to be further clarified due to the implementation of policies in the city

According to research conducted by reporters, whether the down payment ratio will be adjusted after the adjustment of interest rates for second home mortgages has become a focus of attention for Suzhou real estate market professionals.

The reporter learned from multiple banks and real estate agencies in Suzhou that, except for the interest rate of second home loans, the current down payment ratio has not been adjusted. For second home buyers, if there is no loan record or the loan has been settled, the minimum down payment is 20%; For second home buyers, if the loan is not fully settled, the minimum down payment is 30%.

"With the support of favorable policies such as' recognizing a house but not a loan ', major commercial housing developers are actively engaging in activities. Some real estate projects are very hot, and even selling them at record prices is still very popular." A real estate agent from Beike Zhaofang Suzhou told reporters that currently many homebuyers mainly want to seize the opportunity of low down payments, fearing that policies may change.

"The current favorable policies are uncertain whether they can continue, and it is already very difficult to grab good floors. Yesterday, I bought a property in Loufeng, Suzhou Park, called Huxi Brilliant, which I bought. I also ordered a house on a better floor for customers through internal preferential prices." The real estate agent for Beike Real Estate told reporters that it is expected that the down payment ratio may be adjusted in the future.

Except for Suzhou, the minimum down payment of 20% in the four districts of the main city of Nanjing has been suspended recently, and news of it returning to 30% is constantly spreading. According to analysts from Nanjing Kerui Suzhou, the policy of a minimum down payment of 20% for first home loans and a minimum down payment of 30% for second home loans in the four districts of the main city of Nanjing has been urgently suspended. Currently, the policy of a minimum down payment of 30% for first home loans and a minimum down payment of 40% for second home loans is being implemented, and the mortgage interest rate for second home loans has also been raised to LPR+30 basis points, which is 4.5%.

Recently, there have been media reports that there have been new changes in Guangzhou's housing loan policy. In the case of buying a second home in Guangzhou, regardless of whether the loan for this home has been settled, the down payment ratio has increased from 30% specified in the updated housing loan policy on September 8th to 40%, and the interest rate has increased from LPR-10 basis points to LPR+30 basis points.

"The reason why the above mortgage related policies have changed is because different regions have different understandings of the recognition of the first home." Yan Yuejin said that in some places, if they simply look at "whether there is a house in the local area", then the recognition standards are relatively loose; Some places may also adopt relaxed recognition standards for repaying loans, but those that have not been fully repaid will still be included in the standard for second homes

"This type of event further illustrates that in the process of implementing policies based on urban conditions, clear recognition and application rules for housing units are still needed in various regions." Yan Yuejin suggests that homebuyers in different regions should have a proper understanding of the content of such policies in response to the above changes. The recognition of first homes may vary in different regions, but it cannot be simply understood as policies tightening.