GRA Market Weekly (2026-08-09)

After the late-July Politburo meeting sent a top-level signal on stabilising the property market, Beijing was the first to roll out targeted regulatory measures. On the evening of 7 August, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources and the Beijing Housing Provident Fund Management Center jointly issued the Notice on Further Optimising and Adjusting the Municipality's Real Estate Policies, formally effective from 8 August, centred on "loosening purchase restrictions, streamlining gifting and relaxing housing provident fund rules".

Industry analysts note that the new Beijing measures, on one hand, directly expand the pool of eligible homebuyers and should lift transaction activity in both new and secondary homes, repairing trading sentiment in tier-1 housing markets; on the other hand, the higher provident fund loan caps, withdrawals for renovation and the removal of eligibility verification for gifts lower the cost of household housing turnover and accelerate the activation of existing housing stock, lending substantive support to urban renewal and household upgrading, while providing an important reference case for property policy optimisation in China's core cities.

Macro Policy

State Council approves the draft revision of the Housing Provident Fund Management Regulations

On 31 July, the State Council executive meeting was convened and approved the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Housing Provident Fund Management Regulations (Draft), with three major changes:

• Broader scope of use: withdrawals newly permitted for renovation of owner-occupied housing and property management fees
• Wider contribution coverage: sole proprietors, part-time and flexibly employed workers may participate voluntarily
• Mutual recognition and cross-region lending, strengthening inter-regional business coordination

The housing provident fund is shifting from a single-purpose home-purchase tool to a full-lifecycle platform covering "purchase, rental, renovation and elderly care", providing a stable funding supply for the renovation of aging residential compounds; the average individual loan ratio across 26 key cities stands at 65%, with a sound funding position.

Beijing optimises and adjusts real estate policies, effective 8 August

On the evening of 7 August, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources and the Beijing Housing Provident Fund Management Center jointly issued the Notice on Further Optimising and Adjusting the Municipality's Real Estate Policies (effective from 8 August), comprehensively optimising Beijing's real estate policies around the core of "loosening purchase restrictions, streamlining gifting and relaxing housing provident fund rules". The specific measures are as follows:

I. Optimising housing purchase restrictions

• Lower threshold for non-Beijing-hukou buyers: the required period of social insurance or individual income tax contributions for non-Beijing-hukou households buying commodity housing inside the Fifth Ring Road is reduced from "2 years" to "1 year". After the adjustment, the social insurance requirement for non-Beijing-hukou households buying anywhere in the city is unified at "1 year"
• Unit caps: non-Beijing-hukou households with at least 1 year of social insurance or individual income tax contributions may buy 1 unit inside the Fifth Ring Road (families with multiple children may buy 1 additional unit); outside the Fifth Ring Road, there is no cap on the number of units

II. Improving housing gift policy

• Abolition of eligibility verification for gifts: where parents gift commodity housing in the city held under the family's name to adult children, the children's home-purchase eligibility is no longer verified, and residents may apply directly for transfer registration with the relevant documents, so as to activate upgrading demand

III. Stepping up housing provident fund support

• Higher loan caps: for single-contributor households, the maximum loan is RMB 1.2 m for a first home and RMB 1 m for a second home; for dual-contributor couples, RMB 2.4 m for a first home and RMB 2 m for a second home. Eligible borrowers (e.g. hukou in the six urban districts, families with multiple children, purchasers of green buildings) may stack upward adjustments, with the maximum reaching RMB 3.4 m
• Refined linkage mechanism: loan amounts are linked to years of contribution - RMB 200,000 per full year of contribution for a single contributor and RMB 400,000 per full year for dual-contributor couples (calculated on the spouse with the longer contribution record)
• Refined unit-count recognition: contributing households with no home or only 1 home may apply for a provident fund loan for a subsequent purchase after settling their existing provident fund loan
• Support for transfer with mortgage attached: the scope of "transfer with mortgage attached" for existing homes is expanded to cover existing homes with provident fund loans
• Withdrawals for renovation: provident fund withdrawals are permitted for renovation of owner-occupied housing, at 50% of the renovation invoice amount and capped at RMB 250,000

This policy optimisation aims to lower the threshold for home purchases, ease buyers' funding pressure, further release reasonable housing demand and stabilise the real estate market.

Market Watch

Guangqu Road residential plot in Chaoyang, Beijing sells for RMB 8.399 bn, the year's "double land king"

On 4 August, Beijing granted one residential plot on Guangqu Road in Chaoyang District, with planned GFA of 103,173.34 sqm, a plot ratio of 2.8, a starting price of RMB 7.050 bn and a starting accommodation value of RMB 68,332/sqm. The plot drew 6 bidders to on-site bidding and, after 185 rounds, went to China Overseas Land & Investment for a total of RMB 8.399 bn, at an accommodation value of RMB 81,407/sqm and a 19.13% premium. The plot becomes Beijing's "double land king" of 2026 to date by both total price and unit price.

China Index Academy notes that the area around the Nanmofang sub-market has a large volume of existing housing entering the upgrade-and-replace phase while new supply of high-quality homes is limited, building up strong pent-up upgrading demand. This is China Overseas' second high-premium land acquisition in Beijing within a week (on 28 July it won the Jiuxianqiao plot for RMB 4.681 bn at an accommodation value of c. RMB 81,100/sqm and a 25.84% premium), signalling leading central SOEs' strong appetite for quality residential land in Beijing's core districts and a continued reinforcement of the "certainty premium" logic.

Shanghai's seventh-batch land auction: five residential-inclusive plots fetch RMB 9.06 bn

On 4 August, Shanghai's seventh-batch land auction offered 5 residential-inclusive plots with a total site area of 117,334.55 sqm, total planned GFA of 276,615.71 sqm and a combined starting price of RMB 8.339 bn. The plots went to Qingshan Industrial, a consortium of China Merchants Shekou and Zhonglü Investment (中旅投资), Lianfa Group, China Resources Land and Greentown respectively, for total proceeds of RMB 9.06 bn. Three plots - Tangzhen in Pudong, Sunqiao in Zhangjiang and Nanxiang in Jiading - sold at premiums of 28.4%, 26.9% and 14% respectively.

Shanghai's land market remains warm but shows divergence - quality plots in core areas sustain high premiums (Tangzhen 28.4%, Zhangjiang 26.9%) while premiums on some plots are relatively moderate. China Index Academy says Shanghai land auctions have run steadily overall in H2, with reasonable premium levels and market expectations turning rational. Industrial capital (Qingshan Industrial, together with Huafeng Group, took a mixed commercial-residential-office plot in North Bund at the reserve price of RMB 3.845 bn) competing alongside leading developers reflects the differentiated pricing logic of different types of capital for Shanghai's core assets.

Project Watch

Evergrande Hongqiao International Center in Shanghai listed for judicial auction at RMB 7.843 bn - the largest online real estate judicial auction in Shanghai's history

According to the Alibaba Assets platform, the land-use rights and construction in progress of the "Evergrande Hongqiao International" project will go to auction at 10:00 on 31 August, with a starting price of c. RMB 7.843 bn, a deposit of RMB 400 m, bid increments of RMB 5 m and a one-day bidding period. Total GFA is c. 240,000 sqm, comprising 3 Grade A office towers plus a retail podium; the implied unit price is c. RMB 32,700/sqm, against transaction prices of c. RMB 45,000-55,000/sqm for offices of comparable quality nearby. The asset is located at 979 Shenchang Road, Minhang District, Shanghai and comprises land-use rights and construction in progress; the land-use rights cover a combined area of 92,132.9 sqm across two plots, zoned for other commercial services, with tenure running to February 2052. The owning entity, Shanghai Hongyuan Shengshi Investment Development Co., Ltd. (上海虹源盛世投资发展有限公司), was established on 28 December 2011, originally co-funded by Shanghai Red Star Macalline, Shenzhen Shengshi Wanxiang Investment Management Co., Ltd. (深圳盛世万象投资管理有限公司) and Shenyang Shouyuan Investment Management Co., Ltd. (沈阳首源投资管理有限公司), with registered capital of RMB 200 m. In 2018 the shareholder changed to Evergrande Real Estate.

Foshan's first demolish-and-rebuild-in-place project lands in Chancheng

Foshan's first demolish-and-rebuild-in-place project, an innovation pilot in the urban renewal field, is operated and invested by the smart city technology company under municipal SOE Foshan Jianfa Group together with the district-level SOE urban renewal development and construction company. Phase I adopts demolition and reconstruction on the original site, adding elevators, barrier-free facilities and neighbourhood public space to "good housing" standards, and embedding diverse functions such as elderly care services, children's activities and community retail. The cooperation between municipal- and district-level state capital follows the direction of "coordinating resources and joining forces to empower", seeking synergies between the municipal platform's professional experience and the district platform's local resource advantages.

Hefei Yaohai District Jiangtuanchiying urban renewal project: winning bidder announced

The project comprises 10 sub-projects, including Yaohai District's 2027 aging residential compound renovation and the development of the east, west and central Jiangtuanchiying (姜团池郢) plots, with construction covering residential, commercial, environmental improvement and road renewal. Per the tender documents, the cooperation term is 5 years (construction period ≤ 2 years, operation period 3 years) under an "investment + construction + operation" model. Drawing on the Nanfei River waterfront, the project will create a 660-metre riverside cultural and commercial street integrating hotels, retail, culture and arts, dining and entertainment; the area will also feature 1 TOD vitality hub, 1 digital sci-tech industrial park and 1 business development belt. The scope of agency construction and agency sales is concentrated on the central Jiangtuanchiying plot (residential portion) and the east plot.

Corporate Watch

New China Life and Guotai Junan Innovation Investment set up a private investment fund in Beijing

Beijing Huiheng Phase I Private Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership) (北京汇珩一期私募投资基金合伙企业) was recently established with capital contributions of RMB 700 m, its business scope covering equity investment, investment management and asset management through private funds. Qichacha's shareholding trace shows the entity is jointly funded by New China Life and Guotai Junan Innovation Investment. New China Life is using the private fund vehicle to broaden its alternative investment channels and explore an "insurance capital + professional GP" collaborative investment model.

Savills completes acquisition of Eastdil Secured LLC

Savills has formally announced that its acquisition of global real estate investment bank Eastdil Secured has completed. First disclosed in March this year, the deal has now closed after months of progress, with the target valued at over USD 1.1 bn, on the order of c. GBP 800 m. The transaction was financed through a combination of debt and a targeted issue of new shares. Eastdil Secured's former shareholders elected to exchange their equity for newly issued Savills ordinary shares, which account for nearly 20% of the enlarged share capital post-completion. The former shareholder roster included well-known institutions such as Guggenheim, Temasek and Wells Fargo, alongside the company's core management and senior staff. Following completion, Eastdil Secured has been renamed Eastdil Secured Savills and continues to operate as an independent real estate investment banking arm of Savills, with its existing business model and service teams unchanged. The firm has long specialised in North American commercial real estate en-bloc transactions, with business spanning real estate M&A, fund continuation, capital solutions for large properties and cross-border investment advisory, serving sovereign funds, insurance capital and a wide range of real estate investment institutions.

Overseas Watch

Asia-Pacific real estate investment up 27% YoY in H1; Japan leads, Hong Kong's recovery beats expectations

Asia-Pacific commercial real estate investment rose 27% YoY in H1 2026. Japan remained the region's largest market, with Q2 investment volume of USD 10.6 bn; Hong Kong posted the fastest growth, up 129% YoY to USD 3.1 bn. Singapore led regional performance, but with a large volume of en-bloc transactions completed in H1 under a persistently low-rate environment, yields face downward pressure. Tokyo office rents are expected to achieve double-digit growth for the full year; Grade A office leasing in Hong Kong's core districts is accelerating, with Central vacancy falling to 10.2% and quarterly net absorption of Grade A offices across Hong Kong at c. 864,000 sq ft, bringing overall office vacancy down 1 percentage point QoQ to 16.1%.

CBRE expects transaction momentum to moderate somewhat in H2, with investors focusing on markets with strong rental growth prospects such as Tokyo, Sydney and Brisbane. Japanese multifamily has been rated by Nuveen as Asia-Pacific's most attractive multifamily market, and combined with the recent active deployment of international capital such as Lone Star in Tokyo, Japanese rental residential assets warrant continued attention. Hong Kong's office market is benefiting from recovering demand from the financial sector, with a clear improving trend in core-district vacancy, though rents in non-core districts remain under pressure.