Wuxi Introduces 5.0 Upgraded Version of New Real Estate Policy, Lifting Sales Restrictions and Suspending Price Limits

To stabilize the property market, Wuxi introduced ten real estate measures on April 15, including support for "one place, one policy" and "one enterprise, one policy," as well as encouraging financial institutions to innovate loan products. The industry has dubbed this the "Wuxi Ten" 5.0 upgraded property market policy. Lu Qilin, Research Director of 58 Anju Research Institute, pointed out that the core of Wuxi's new property market policies lies in releasing demand for improved housing and encouraging buyers to actively enter the market. Notably, Wuxi has lifted the restrictions on the sale of commercial housing, suspended price control policies, and clarified new preferential measures related to home purchase subsidies. According to the latest policy, Wuxi has abolished the previous regulation that "purchased housing (including second-hand housing) cannot be transferred within two years of obtaining the property ownership certificate; for legal entities, the period is three years." Now, as long as the property ownership certificate is obtained, the property can be sold, with relevant taxes and fees still executed according to tax policies. Lu Qilin told reporters that, on one hand, the removal of sales restrictions allows some buyers to sell their second-hand homes and purchase higher-quality new homes. On the other hand, local financial policies, such as housing provident funds, have increased support for self-occupied housing demand, which aligns closely with the central government's policy direction of stabilizing the property market. "The removal of sales restrictions enhances the liquidity of houses in the market, which helps landlords or buyers to upgrade their homes and release demand for improved housing. However, it will also lead to an increase in the listing volume of second-hand homes, potentially impacting second-hand home prices," said Yan Yuejin, Deputy Director of the E-House Research Institute. Meanwhile, Wuxi has suspended the price filing for newly built commercial housing. Before obtaining the pre-sale permit or current sale filing certificate, developers no longer need to file price records with the price management department. Instead, they can independently determine the "one house, one price" based on market conditions and publicly disclose it. Yan Yuejin stated that the suspension of price filing essentially means the suspension of price control policies. Analysts believe that while the direction of price changes after the suspension of price control policies in Wuxi remains uncertain, this measure will enhance developers' ability to independently set prices based on market changes. As developers can adopt volume discount strategies according to their own situations, this will help boost sales performance in Q2. "Under the current overall environment, restrictive policies such as price and sales controls no longer meet the requirements of market development. Moreover, with the deep adjustment of housing prices, price control policies are actually contrary to the original intention of controlling rapid price increases. If such policies can be lifted at an appropriate time, it can more effectively promote the stabilization and rebound of the property market," Lu Qilin said in an interview with reporters. In terms of home purchase subsidies, for multi-child families with Wuxi household registration added after the implementation of the universal two-child policy, a one-time home purchase subsidy of 30,000 yuan will be provided by the local government (management committee) of the newly purchased commercial housing after obtaining the property ownership certificate. According to the latest policy, Wuxi has also extended related home purchase subsidy benefits. For families who sell their own homes within the city area from January 1, 2023, to June 30, 2025, and purchase new commercial housing from January 1, 2025, to June 30, 2025, a "sell old, buy new" deed tax subsidy will be provided. The subsidy standard is 30% of the deed tax paid for the new home; for homes with a building area of 144 m² or more, an additional 30% subsidy will be provided. The total subsidy for a single unit shall not exceed 50,000 yuan. Industry insiders pointed out that Wuxi's home purchase subsidies for multi-child families support the demand for improved housing; the deed tax subsidy policy further reduces buyers' transaction tax costs. Multiple measures combined will release market demand more vigorously. Additionally, Wuxi supports financial institutions in offering personalized housing financial products with "low down payment, low interest, low monthly payment, and extended term" for young people, better meeting their diversified credit needs. "Wuxi has become another city, following Suzhou and Nanjing, to explicitly support the 'low monthly payment' policy. This initiative also reflects that Jiangsu Province has taken many innovative measures in supporting financial institutions to try out home loan products. These trends are worth further research and experimentation by local governments and commercial banks," said Yan Yuejin. Analysts believe that Wuxi's introduction of significant new property market policies may be related to the local market pressure. "Currently, developers in Wuxi have low enthusiasm for launching new projects, with no projects opened or added in March," said a CRIC analyst. From the market transaction perspective, according to CRIC data, the transaction area of new commercial housing in Wuxi in March 2025 was 120,000 m², up 57% MoM but down 26% YoY. In Q1 this year, the transaction area of new commercial housing in Wuxi was 300,000 m², down 26% YoY. Data shows that the inventory of new homes in Wuxi in March was 5.13 million m², with a digestion cycle of 33.6 months. In the second-hand housing market, Wuxi's second-hand housing transactions in March were 400,000 m², up 50% MoM and 1% YoY. In Q1 this year, Wuxi's second-hand housing transactions were 900,000 m², flat compared to the same period last year. According to data from the China Index Academy, Wuxi's residential land transfer revenue from January to March this year was 4.2 billion yuan; in 2024, Wuxi's land transfer revenue was 50.4 billion yuan, down 36% YoY. Analysts believe that Wuxi's move is an important manifestation of further relaxation in real estate policies, and more measures to support the property market may be introduced in Q2 this year. "The national real estate market has been stabilizing for six months. Wuxi's latest policies reflect that it is still necessary for local governments to introduce effective support measures to further stabilize market expectations and consolidate the positive market trend," Yan Yuejin added.