At the beginning of 2024, China's property market continued the adjustment trend of last year, according to the data of the China Index Research Institute, the average second-hand residential property in 100 cities in the country in January was 15,230 yuan square meters, which has been 21 consecutive months. It can be seen that high housing prices are still a problem that cannot be ignored, and it is accompanied by a continuous decline in the birth rate of newborns.
In this context, the state began to take action, on the one hand, to save the market and protect the property market, on the other hand, to promote a new round of housing reform to ensure the housing needs of low- and middle-income families.
After all, while housing prices are soaring, the birth rate has dropped significantly.
As one of the social hot spots, housing prices continue to occupy the focus of people's attention, even in the case of the introduction of property market control policies in many places, the average number of second-hand housing in 100 cities has not dropped significantly, making it extremely difficult for ordinary families to buy houses.
For a 100-square-meter commercial house, it needs to cost at least 1.6 million yuan, which has become a burden for many young people and low- and middle-income families.
At the same time, the decline in the birth rate of newborns has also caused concern in society, and at the end of 2023, the number of newborns for the whole year will be 9.02 million, and the birth rate of the population will be 639, while the national population experienced a negative growth for the second consecutive year, a decrease of 2.08 million.
Behind this trend, high housing prices are a clear factor. Due to high housing prices, many young people are delaying marriage and having children, resulting in a decrease in the number of newborns.
Dilemma: Protecting the property market or protecting the children?
In the current situation, the country is faced with a dilemma: whether to continue to protect the property market and maintain the stability of the real estate market in the short term, or to protect the housing demand of low- and middle-income families and promote the rebound of the birth rate of newborns?
Efforts to protect the property market:** and banks at all levels have introduced a series of rescue policies, the purpose of which is to encourage the purchase of houses just in need, maintain the relative stability of the real estate market in the short term, and avoid the ups and downs of the property market.
However, these policies are considered to be a "property protection" approach, mainly for the sake of short-term market stability, rather than a solution to long-standing structural problems.
Determination to protect the child:But at the same time, the state is also taking action to "protect children".
In August 2023, the executive meeting adopted the "Guiding Opinions on Planning and Construction of Affordable Housing", planning to build 6 million affordable housing units in the next five years to meet the housing needs of low- and middle-income families.
Therefore, this is considered to be the start of a new round of housing reform, and the country has moved in earnest.
A new round of housing reform: protection for low- and middle-income families.
The key to the new round of housing reform lies in the construction of affordable housing to make up for the housing problems of low- and middle-income families caused by marketization in the past.
The plan aims to build 6 million affordable housing units over the next five years,** which is much lower than nearby commercial housing, which will greatly reduce the cost of ownership for low- and middle-income families and provide them with more housing options.
At the same time, the introduction of affordable housing will gradually return the market to residential attributes and avoid excessive marketization of commercial housing.
The implementation of this policy means that the low-income groups are guaranteed to provide them with more affordable housing options, and the future of commercial housing will be determined by the market independently, and there will be no more intervention.
It is best to take both into account
In the current situation, protecting the property market and protecting children seem to be opposite choices, but in fact, the two can be taken into account, and the rescue policy introduced is aimed at maintaining the relative stability of the real estate market in the short term and avoiding big ups and downs.
The new round of housing reform is aimed at solving long-standing structural problems and providing affordable housing options for low- and middle-income families.
In the future, with the gradual construction of affordable housing, the living cost of low- and middle-income families will drop significantly.
This will provide more opportunities for young people to marry and have children, thereby gradually increasing the birth rate of newborns, so that the best way to achieve overall social stability and sustainable development is to achieve both.
With the support of a new round of housing reform, the construction of affordable housing will become a long-term solution to the real estate market problem.
The implementation of this policy will not only help alleviate the housing problems of low- and middle-income families, but also promote the gradual recovery of the newborn birth rate.
In fact, the introduction of a new round of housing reform is not only to ensure the housing needs of low-income families, but also to solve the problem of marriage and childbirth.
Due to the long-term high housing prices, many young people have postponed their decision to get married and have children, which has directly led to the decline in the number of newborns.
The new round of housing reform provides more affordable housing options for low- and middle-income families and more opportunities for young people to realize their family dreams through the construction of affordable housing.
With the support of housing reform, low- and middle-income families will be able to enjoy the opportunity to purchase more reasonable affordable housing, which will undoubtedly reduce the financial pressure of getting married and having children.
The fundamental solution to such a social problem is not only conducive to family stability, but also to the sustained and healthy development of society.
In the face of the dilemma of protecting the property market and protecting children, the best way to balance is to continue to implement policies according to the city and reasonably guide the development of the real estate market while building affordable housing.
Such a policy can not only ensure the stability of the real estate market in the short term and avoid major ups and downs, but also take a long-term view to solve the housing problem of low- and middle-income families and promote the enthusiasm of young people to get married and have children.
The promotion of a new round of housing reform means that the commercial housing market will gradually return to rationality, and it will no longer intervene excessively in the market, but provide more choices for low- and middle-income families through the construction of affordable housing.
This will help avoid the excessive prosperity of the commercial housing market in the past and make the market develop more rationally and healthily.
In fact, affordable housing options are the answer
In the whole problem, I personally believe that affordable housing options are the way to go.
* When introducing a new round of housing reform policies, the construction of affordable housing will be given priority, which will help alleviate the housing problems of low- and middle-income families.
This is not only conducive to the overall stability of society, but also stimulates the enthusiasm of young people to get married and have children.
At the same time, the construction of affordable housing does not mean sacrificing the commercial housing market, and the city's policies and reasonable guidance will make the commercial housing market return to rationality and avoid extreme fluctuations in the market.
Such balanced policies are expected to achieve overall social stability and lay a solid foundation for sustainable development.
Driven by the new round of housing reform, it is expected that the future society can achieve a win-win situation of family stability and social prosperity.
By providing affordable housing options, low- and middle-income families will be better able to achieve their dream of housing, and young people will be more confident in preparing for the stage of getting married and having children.
This will inject more positive forces into the society and promote the pace of sustainable development of the country.