China News Service, Haikou, November 6 (Reporter Wang Ziqian) The Hainan Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and other three departments issued the "Notice on Implementing the "Notice on Improving the Commercial Housing Sales System" (referred to as the "Notice") on the 5th, clarifying that on the basis of continuing the existing existing housing sales management framework, detailed arrangements will be made for transaction risk prevention and control, pre-sale fund supervision, project development services and other links.
Hainan is the first province in China to implement existing home sales. The new policy clarifies that commercial housing projects with newly transferred land after August 28, 2026 (inclusive, the same below) will continue to implement existing home sales. For commercial housing projects that transfer land between March 8, 2020 (inclusive, the same below) and August 28, 2026, the sales conditions of existing houses will be implemented in accordance with the original policy regulations. Commercial housing projects whose land is sold before March 8, 2020 can continue to be pre-sold, and existing housing sales are encouraged. Urban renewal projects approved by city and county governments that are equipped with commercial housing can continue to be implemented according to the pre-sale system.
The "Notice" strictly limits the conditions for the sale of existing houses. For commercial housing projects that implement the sale of existing houses, the real estate development enterprise shall submit the existing house sales plan and relevant certificates to the housing and urban-rural development department of the city or county where the project is located after completing the project completion acceptance record and meeting the delivery conditions of water, electricity and other supporting facilities. Promote real estate development enterprises to apply for the sale of existing houses after completing the first registration of houses, and fully implement the "handover of houses with certificates".
The implementation of deposits for existing home sales is also a highlight of this new policy. For commercial housing projects that sell existing houses, after obtaining the construction license, the real estate development company can sign a house purchase deposit contract with the house buyer and collect a small amount of deposit in accordance with the law. In principle, it should not be higher than 5% of the total price of the house.
The deposit paid by the house buyer for the existing house should be deposited into the deposit supervision account, and the deposit cannot be used during the supervision period. After the project completion acceptance is completed and the water, electricity and other supporting facilities are ready for delivery, the project deposit supervision will be lifted.
The "Notice" also strictly controls the pre-sale of commercial housing. It is stipulated that projects applying for pre-sale of newly transferred land after August 28, 2026 must meet the rigid conditions of capping the main structure of a single building. For commercial housing projects whose land has been transferred before August 28, 2026, pre-sale can be implemented, and various localities will reasonably set key supervision quotas, and the supervision funds must be able to cover all construction costs of the project.
The "Notice" also uses rigid institutional arrangements to plug project funding risk loopholes from the source. This includes requiring commercial housing development and construction to implement a project development company system, that is, before the project is completed, accepted and recorded, investors are strictly prohibited from allocating sales, financing and other funds to the project development company, and it is strictly prohibited to withdraw capital or pay dividends in advance.
In addition, a real estate project sponsoring bank system has also been implemented. There is a two-way choice between the real estate development enterprise and the sponsoring bank, and one sponsoring bank is determined for each project. A real estate development enterprise opens a capital account with the host bank. During the project duration, in addition to pre-sale funds, deposits, etc. that are supervised in accordance with regulations, all funds related to the project, such as development loans, project own funds, existing house sales funds, etc., are included in the capital account management. The lending bank reasonably determines the loan term based on the project construction and sales cycle and risk level.
On the premise of maintaining safety red lines, the new regulations have launched a number of support measures to reduce pressure and improve efficiency for development companies. In terms of land transfer, it is clarified that for commercial residential land with a transfer announcement issued after August 28, 2026, the transfer price can be paid in installments in accordance with national regulations. The down payment must be paid within 30 natural days from the date of signing the transfer contract, and the payment ratio shall not be less than 50% of the total price. The balance can be paid off within two years at most after the transfer contract is signed. If paid in installments, no interest will be included.
