On August 26th, four departments including the Xi'an Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau issued the "Work Measures for Supporting High-Quality Development of Xi'an's Real Estate Market," proposing measures such as increasing housing provident fund support, encouraging residents to "sell old and buy new," establishing an efficient linked service mechanism for "transfer with mortgage," and allowing real estate developers to independently determine project sales prices.

The day prior, on August 25th, the Chengdu Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau and other departments jointly released the "Notice on Further Optimizing Policies and Measures to Promote the Stable and Healthy Development of the Real Estate Market," which put forward initiatives across four areas, including optimizing supply to balance supply and demand and supporting housing consumption to meet diverse needs. In terms of supporting housing consumption, the Notice calls for increased housing provident fund support. From the effective date of the Notice until December 31st, 2026, the minimum down payment ratio for housing provident fund loans applied for the purchase of new commercial housing in the city will be 15%, along with a one-year interest subsidy of 20%, capped at a maximum of 25,000 yuan. For purchases of new commercial housing designed to meet the green building one-star standard or above, the maximum housing provident fund loan amount will be raised by 20%.

Yanjin Yue, Vice President of the Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute, commented to the Securities Daily, stating that the Notice issued by Chengdu introduces ten policy measures across four dimensions—optimizing supply, supporting consumption, revitalizing existing stock, and creating a favorable environment—to drive the high-quality development of the local real estate market. On the demand side, he noted that reducing the housing provident fund down payment ratio to 15% and introducing interest subsidies will effectively unlock home purchasing potential.

Recently, local governments have been intensively introducing real estate policies, with cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Xi'an all releasing policy benefits before September. The Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and other departments issued a notice on August 7th that includes seven policy measures across three areas: optimizing housing purchase restrictions, refining housing gift policies, and increasing housing provident fund support. Similarly, on August 20th, the Shanghai Housing and Urban-Rural Construction Management Committee and other departments jointly issued a notice clarifying eight policy measures across five aspects, including optimizing provident fund withdrawals, improving personal housing credit, implementing "trade-in" purchase subsidies, promoting housing voucher resettlement, and advancing the acquisition of second-hand housing.

Yujia Li, Chief Researcher at the Guangdong Housing Policy Research Center, explained to the Securities Daily that by adjusting purchase restriction policies and loan down payment ratios, various regions are further unleashing home purchasing potential. Meanwhile, increasing housing provident fund loan amounts lowers the threshold for buying a home, and subsidies—including provident fund loan interest discounts and trade-in subsidies—reduce overall purchase costs. Looking at the pace of policy rollout, Li noted that after Beijing and Shanghai successively introduced policies, Chengdu and Xi'an followed suit, creating a relay effect of linkage and sustained follow-through between first-tier and second-tier cities. This sends a positive signal to the market that "there is still room for policy," bolstering market confidence and expectations.

The timing of these policy releases is precise, deliberately building momentum for the "golden September and silver October" period, the traditional peak season for the property market. Yue believes that judging from the recent policies across various regions, the housing provident fund system has become a core focal point, with significantly increased financial support. It is worth noting that cities like Zhengzhou have also recently intensified efforts to optimize their housing provident fund policies. On August 26th, the Zhengzhou Housing Provident Fund Management Center issued a notice clarifying two measures: adjusting the down payment ratio for existing housing and supporting intergenerational family mutual assistance in using housing provident fund loans.

Yue added that overall, the recent local real estate policies indicate that regions are further consolidating the foundation for a stable and improving property market and promoting healthy market development. This will have a positive impact on market trends in the second half of this year, particularly during the "golden September and silver October" period.

"Recently, several hot cities have introduced policies on home purchase subsidies. Coupled with significantly increased housing provident fund loan limits, the effects of reducing costs and lowering thresholds are quite evident. Based on past experience, policies typically enter a concentrated release period one to two months after implementation, and the certainty of market transaction volumes recovering in the short term is relatively strong," Li analyzed, looking ahead to the property market's performance during the upcoming "golden September and silver October" season. He explained that this round of policies is oriented towards "lowering thresholds, promoting circulation, optimizing supply, and controlling increments." They not only stimulate potential on the demand side but also control land supply and construction starts on the supply side. Property prices are expected to remain stable, with transaction volumes in core cities continuing to bottom out, and the phenomenon of trading volume for price is likely to ease. However, structural divergence in the market may persist, and whether the replacement chain between new homes and second-hand homes remains smooth is still the key to the stability of the real estate market.