Since the beginning of this year, the construction and market entry pace of affordable rental housing (hereinafter referred to as "affordable rental housing") projects in multiple cities such as Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Changsha, and Kunming have accelerated, driving the expansion of the supply of relatively low-priced rental housing. Industry insiders say that promoting rental housing is an important direction of housing policy and an important measure to meet the housing needs of new citizens, young people, and other groups. It helps alleviate rental pressure and promote the stable development of the real estate market. The pace of entering the market has accelerated. On March 25th, the sixth batch of applications for guaranteed rental housing in Shenzhen officially began. The allocated housing is located in the Anju Panlongyuan project in Pingshan District, Shenzhen, and is a re allocated housing for vacating. It is reported that there are a total of 212 units in this housing project, including 95 two bedroom units and 117 three bedroom units. Not only Shenzhen, but also Chengdu has multiple projects entering the market this year. The reporter learned that Unit 1373 of Xinhui Apartment in Pidu District, Chengdu is expected to be put into operation in June this year. In addition, according to Chengdu Rail Transit Group, with the operation of four TOD affordable housing projects, namely Machangba, Xingfu Bridge, Zhonghuan, and Youyi, the number of affordable housing units will reach more than 4700 units. In Kunming, the allocation of the first and second batches of affordable rental housing for 2025 has also been completed before that. Li Yujia, Chief Researcher of Guangdong Housing Policy Research Center, stated that 2025 is the year when the "14th Five Year Plan" comes to an end. According to public data, as of last year, about 80% of the fundraising tasks for guaranteed housing during the "14th Five Year Plan" period in many places have been completed, and the remaining tasks will be fully completed by 2025. Under the task oriented approach, various regions have accelerated the entry of affordable housing projects into the market. Li Yujia pointed out that various regions are increasing their efforts to attract talents, and the demand for affordable housing among young people has increased. "They are more inclined to choose affordable housing projects that are centrally supplied, have complete supporting facilities, and have a good living experience. In addition, the rent of affordable housing is often around 60% to 80% of the market rent, which is in line with the preference of new citizens for low rent housing. Multiple regions are increasing their fundraising efforts. At the end of last year, the National Conference on Housing and Urban Rural Development proposed that by 2025, the supply of affordable housing should be increased by ordering and constructing according to demand, and efforts should be made to allocate affordable housing to help a large number of new citizens, young people, migrant workers, and others achieve safe living. In recent years, promoting the construction and fundraising of affordable housing has become a key task for many cities. The Housing and Urban Rural Development Bureau of Changsha City stated that by 2025, the city plans to raise 26 affordable rental housing projects and construct 7 public rental housing projects, creating the "Public Rental Housing 2.0 Version". In Beijing, in order to increase the supply of affordable housing, the city is exploring the establishment of its first reserve project library for affordable housing. In 2024, Beijing exceeded the target of raising and constructing affordable housing. By 2025, Beijing plans to build and raise 50000 units of affordable housing, providing more opportunities for college graduates and young people to settle in Beijing. To meet the rental needs of more people, Beijing is actively raising dormitory type housing resources and targeting groups such as express delivery, public transportation, housekeeping, and sanitation. For example, the Chaoyang Colorful Home project offers 2586 housing units for public service personnel to rent. Haidian District will transform the emergency isolation room of Phoenix Apartment into a skilled talent apartment, with applicants distributed in industries such as construction, catering, power construction, engineering construction, and transportation. Compared with public rental housing, the coverage of guaranteed housing is relatively wide, and its positioning is to solve the housing difficulties of new citizens, young people and other groups Yan Yuejin, Vice President of E-house Real Estate Research Center, stated that these projects cover different types and scales of housing, meeting the diverse needs of different rental groups. Yan Yuejin pointed out that accelerating the construction of affordable housing is a key link in building a new model for real estate development. By providing affordable housing to attract and retain population and talent, effectively lowering the threshold for housing consumption, allowing some groups to solve their housing problems through leasing, and then accumulate conditions for subsequent home purchases, achieving a "rent first, buy later" housing consumption path. Recently, the People's Bank of China Dalian Branch instructed China Development Bank Dalian Branch to issue the first loan in line with the indemnificatory housing refinancing policy in Liaoning Province to the acquisition entity selected by Dalian, with a credit amount of 240 million yuan and the first paid in loan of 171 million yuan. Support its acquisition of 1126 sets of commercial housing with a total construction area of 36300 square meters, as high-quality guaranteed rental housing targeted at young talents. In addition, the application for the sale of rental housing REITs projects continues to heat up. In September 2024, Huaxia Beijing Affordable Housing Center's rental housing closed-end infrastructure securities investment fund submitted an application for expansion and sale. In November, the market welcomed a more intensive wave of application for sale. Huitianfu Shanghai Real Estate Rental Housing Closed Infrastructure Securities Investment Fund and Huatai Zijin Suzhou Hengtai Rental Housing Closed Infrastructure Securities Investment Fund officially submitted their first application for sale. At the same time, Huaxia Fund China Resources Youchao Rental Housing Closed End Infrastructure Securities Investment Fund has also submitted an application for expansion and sale. At present, Huitianfu Shanghai Real Estate Rental Housing Closed Infrastructure Securities Investment Fund has officially passed the review and been listed for sale. It is reported that Huitianfu Shanghai Real Estate Rental Housing REITs were originally scheduled to raise funds from March 17th to March 18th. Due to the enthusiastic subscription of public investors, on March 17th, the cumulative effective subscription scale exceeded the initial fundraising limit, and the company ended the fundraising ahead of schedule. This trend is expected to continue and deepen further Yan Yuejin stated that with the completion of the 14th Five Year Plan and the opening of the 15th Five Year Plan, both in terms of funding and policies, the construction and supply of affordable housing will continue to receive strong support. In the future, affordable housing will become an important component of the rental market, providing new citizens and young people with better and more convenient housing choices. (New Society)