Shanghai to ensure more rental homes available

Shanghai will make more effort in fostering its residential leasing market this year by speeding up real estate development as well as offering support for professional home leasing companies and institutions, Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong said.

He was speaking at the first session of the 15th Shanghai People’s Congress yesterday.

The city aims to add a total of 290,000 leasing units, including newly built rental apartments, to the local market in 2018 and set up a home leasing service platform, Ying said as he delivered the city government’s work report.

Shanghai will also add about 55,000 affordable housing units this year, improve its policies for joint-ownership houses and lower the application threshold for low-rent homes.

Ying pledged to stick to current tightening policies to quell speculation, and vowed to accelerate the pace of establishing a housing system that will ensure supply from multiple sources, provide housing support through multiple channels, and encourage both house purchases and rental.

“It is great to see that various accommodation demands will be satisfied through various means and with various products as the government has proposed,” said Siu Wing Chu, managing director for central China at Savills.

“A key job of the government will be how to work out an appropriate and scientific way to satisfy residents’ housing demands and make better use of existing inventories.”