Today, shanghai launched the new deal. The new deal has begun to stabilize the market in three dimensions, namely, the further reduction of housing restrictions, the optimization of housing equity loans and the improvement of the personal housing tax. Among them, the activation of non-resident potential home buyers is a policy priority。
On 25 february, the shanghai city housing and urban construction board, the municipal housing authority, the municipal finance authority, the municipal tax administration and the municipal provident fund management centre jointly issued a circular on the further optimization of the real estate policy of the city (hereinafter referred to as the circular), “untie” the city。
The circular, which was in force since 26 february 2026, began with a concerted effort to stabilize the market, focusing on the three policy dimensions of further reduction of housing restrictions, optimization of the housing provident fund loan and improvement of the personal housing tax。
According to zhang bo, director of the house of tenants, the policy is a precise enabling tool for responding to immediate needs, improving and replacing three types of real needs. Once it is laid down, the policy will lead directly to the release of three main needs: first, the initial demand of new citizens and new talent in the outer ring; secondly, the need to improve the demand for additional purchases in the outer circle of the population over time; and thirdly, the need for replacement upgrades for home-based families。
“these three types of demand are legitimate demands at the core of the market, which will effectively activate the dynamism of the new, second-hand house trade in shanghai, ease the pressure of second-hand house mobility and contribute to a steady increase in the scale of the transaction”。
Purchase-limit adjustments
The circular clearly states that the “three-step” approach will further reduce the policy of limiting the purchase of housing。
The first is to reduce the number of years of social security or taxation required for non-residents to purchase housing in the outer ring. The number of years of social insurance or personal income tax required for the purchase of housing in the outer ring for families or single adults who are not residents of the municipality has been adjusted to one year or more prior to the date of purchase。
Second, non-residents who meet the conditions may purchase an additional housing unit in the outer ring. For non-resident families or adult single persons who have paid social insurance or personal income tax in their municipality for three years or more, an additional housing unit may be purchased in the outer ring on the basis of the implementation of the existing limited housing purchase policy。
Thirdly, eligible groups with shanghai city residence permit may purchase housing in their municipality. For non-resident families or adult single persons with a shanghai city residence permit who have reached the age of five years or more, there is no requirement to provide a certificate of social security or a tax for the purchase of one dwelling in the municipality。
In accordance with the above-mentioned provisions, families of non-residents or single adults who have completed one year or more of continuous social insurance or personal income tax in their municipality prior to the date of purchase of the dwelling, purchase an unlimited number of housing units outside the outer ring and a limited number of dwellings within the outer ring; and two dwellings within the outer ring after three years of continuous social insurance or personal income tax. Up to five years and more with a shanghai city residence permit, the purchase of one housing unit is limited to the city as a whole。
A table prepared by the wu seong
In general, activation of non-resident potential home buyers is a policy priority。
Li yu jia, a leading researcher at the centre for housing policy studies in guangdong province, told journalists that only by activating non-resident home buyers can they absorb the high stock of second-hand houses, stabilize the price of second-hand houses and promote the sale of old, new, small-sale cycles, which are key to smoothing the market cycle and addressing the problem of intestines in the current market。
According to the data, between december 2025 and january 2026, about 55 to 60 per cent of residential housing was purchased in shanghai and about 40 to 45 per cent in non-resident homes. However, shanghai has a relatively high rate of home ownership, with a large non-resident population of 9. 8349 million in 2024, or about 40 per cent of the resident population, and a high willingness of the non-resident population to purchase housing, which is sensitive to the cost and threshold of home acquisition。
According to zhang bo, this step-by-step untiement strategy is well aligned with the needs of the shanghai passenger community and the construction industry, and the market needs to be effectively connected with the need to improve its growth. According to data from the 58 perpetrators platform, only 8. 7 per cent (a further reduction to 8. 5 per cent in january 2026) of the second-hand population overlap in shanghai in 2025 was the lowest in the country, with a stable pattern of “new house improvement, second-hand demand”。
This time, the length of social security/tax years for non-residential home purchases in the outer ring has been reduced to one year, and the threshold for the introduction of new citizens and new talent has been reduced precisely to fit the immediate characteristics of the secondary home market。
At the same time, according to online data, the number of people searching for second-hand houses in shanghai increased by 4. 7 percentage points in comparison to the same year, while the number of registered places rose by only 1. 72 per cent over the same period, with the initial need for a release space but limited to the threshold for house purchases. An additional set of provisions that can be purchased in the outer ring after three years, as well as a five-year exemption from social security/tax purchase of housing with a residence permit, cover a more comprehensive group of businesses and ensure that the new demand is channelled to the second-hand market。
Optimizing the provident fund
When the threshold for house purchases is lowered, the funds are kept up. The circular provides for the optimization of the housing provident fund policy in order to meet the needs of depositors at different stages of security of tenure。
A table prepared by the wu seong
The first is a modest increase in the ceiling of the housing provident fund. The maximum amount of the provident fund loan for the purchase of the first housing unit for the families of the depositors was raised from 1. 6 million yuan to 2. 4 million yuan, and the maximum amount of the loan for the purchase of green buildings was increased to 3. 24 million yuan (up 35 per cent). The maximum amount of credit for the purchase of a second housing unit has been increased accordingly。
The second is to optimize the number of loan packages. In the case of families of municipal depositors who have already used a provident fund loan, they may apply for a provident fund loan if they have no or only one housing unit in the municipality and are currently settled。
Thirdly, support for the purchase of housing for families with many children has been expanded. The application of the provident fund loan support policy extends from the purchase of the first home to the purchase of the second. In the case of the purchase of a second home for families with many children, the maximum amount of the loan rises by 20 per cent from the maximum amount of the municipal loan。
“the policy of the provident fund is very strong.” in response to the current demand and change of households, li yuja noted that the policy was more sensitive to prices and costs and thresholds, with a maximum of $3. 24 million in provident fund loans and 20 per cent for families with many children. Considering that the share of second-hand houses below $3 million is 65 per cent, many households are able to purchase housing on the basis of public funds without further funding。
In addition, shanghai has a 25 per cent supply of between $3 million and $5 million and 65 per cent of new housing. Such a structure would mean that if the second-hand house trade were to accelerate, the new house trade would be driven, given the current low interest rates on loans and the historically low transaction taxes。
According to zhang bo, the optimization of the provident fund lending policy is the core of the new deal's ability to increase capacity to pay, to break the switch chain, to hit the improvement point in shanghai, and to match the market's “sale-new” core demand。
It noted that, in 2025, the second-hand room in shanghai had been listed for an extended period of 15. 26 per cent over the same period, which amounted to 98. 75 days, with significant liquidity pressures, while the heat of searching for a new room had fallen by 12 per cent over the same period, and improved demand was difficult to release because of capacity to pay and loan restrictions。
The rise in the initial set of provident fund loans amounts to up to $3. 24 million and corresponds to the high total prices in shanghai, which effectively reduces the down payment and monthly supply pressure on households in need. A 20 per cent policy of double-lending for families with many children extends the range of support from the first to the second, matching the housing promotion needs of such families with the changing demographic trends。
Support for the purchase of houses for children of chinese origin
In addition to non-residents, the policy also takes into account the need for home ownership in shanghai。
In order to support the population's need for replacement and improvement, the circular provides that, as of 1 january 2026, children of families of residents of the municipality who have reached the age of majority shall be granted temporary exemption from the individual housing property tax for the purchase of a home that is the sole home for an adult family. If, at the time of the age of majority (or prior to the piloting of the individual housing tax), the person who bought the house owned jointly with his or her parents and grandparents, after the new or replaced home in the municipality, the dwelling remains the sole home of an adult family (other than the above-mentioned joint home)。
If the family home situation of the purchaser changes, the above-mentioned conditions are met, the taxing information on the individual's housing property may be renewed with the tax office of the taxable home, the tax will be adjusted as from the day after the re-determination of the tax office and the tax will be refunded for an additional period after 1 january 2026。
According to li, the current focus of housing policy, including in shanghai, is realizing the potential of demand. In 2024, the per capita disposable income in shanghai was $91987 and shanghai became the first city in the country to have an annual per capita disposable income exceeding the threshold of $90,000。
At the same time, according to institutional statistics, the home ownership rate of households with a household registration system in shanghai is about 68 per cent - 70 per cent, and the housing potential is modest. Given the marked ageing of the population, the housing ownership rate is high, the “older money” is higher and the potential need is to buy housing for children. “tax and tax policies are designed to activate potential demand”。
Sun wanqiu
In the view of li woo jia, shanghai introduced nine measures at the beginning of the new spring, with clear signals of cost reduction, threshold reduction and expectations, and better policy orientation, with a greater impetus for the post-friday ying. “sales in march are key to opening doors, and developers are expected to produce good products in march with high value for money, appropriate pricing and aggressive promotion policies”。
Zhang bo also indicated that, by 2025, the trade in second-hand rooms in shanghai had reached more than 65 per cent and had become the dominant market force, and that the release of improved replacement demand, as local owners, was key to driving the market cycle. This adjustment of the housing tax policy, which allows for a temporary exemption from the property tax as long as the new home is the sole home of the family, will not only encourage the rational replacement of the home, but will also facilitate the upgrading of the market for second-hand houses。
