From 1 january 2026, individuals will pay vat in full at the rate of 3 per cent for foreign sales of housing for less than two years. This adjustment means that second-hand residential transfers of less than two years will save 2 percentage points of vat (previously 5 per cent) and a total of 2. 12 percentage points (down from 5. 3 per cent to 3. 18 per cent) after the addition of vat. For example, a second-hand house of $5 million could save about $98,000 in taxes and fees. So, who's saved the vat

Journalists learned that lower taxes and fees meant that sellers had less to bear, and some sellers had begun to give money saved to buyers. The case of the village manager, zhang lung, is that the village has a second-hand room for sale and the landlord has bought it for less than two years. At the end of last year, the floor price of the house was $4. 2 million. After this year's drop in vat, the landlord has taken the initiative to lower the floor price of the house by $100,000, currently at $4. 1 million. Zhang lung explained that since it was the buyer's market, the buyer demanded “net-to-hand price” in a number of home-source transactions, i. E. That the seller pay the tax. As a result, the tax savings became a space for sellers to reduce their prices, which would speed up the transaction。

The reduction in vat has had a greater impact on transactions in sub-new housing sub-districts. According to the hangzhou shell institute, since 2024, 13. 1 per cent of the housing stock has been sold in less than two years. It is expected that with the arrival of the new deal, the trade-off ratio will increase steadily。

The director of the hangzhou shell institute told journalists that according to the hanzhou shell institute's research on both buyers and sellers, vat was half the market mainstream. Lower vat costs not only reduce the pressure on owners to move and activate the replacement chain, but also increase the market incentives of buyers. The new deal is currently short-lived and is expected to have a positive stimulus to the market later。




