① The sales restriction policy implemented in Chongqing since September 2017 has officially come to an end.
② The day before the complete lifting of sales restrictions, Chongqing also adjusted the property tax pilot policy and no longer included the purchase of ordinary houses by people outside the city in the scope of taxation.
Cailian News Agency, February 8 (Reporter Li Jie)The sales restriction policy implemented in Chongqing since September 2017 has officially come to an end.
On February 8, Chongqing City Housing and Urban-Rural Construction Committee announced through its official website that starting from February 8, 2025, the central Urban area of Chongqing City will cancel the re-transaction management of housing that had been included in the two-year sales restriction. This marks the comprehensive lifting of the housing sales restriction policy in Chongqing’s property market.
According to Chongqing’s latest policy, after sales restrictions are lifted, buyers can go public and trade after obtaining the “Real Estate Title Certificate”, which will greatly improve market liquidity and stimulate market vitality. At the same time, policy adjustments are also conducive to optimizing the identification standards for housing units, supporting the “replacement of old housing for new ones”, and promoting the stable and healthy development of the real estate market.
“Chongqing has completely abolished housing restrictions and after-sales sales, allowing buyers to more flexibly and freely determine the re-transaction time of their properties. This will help enhance the liquidity of the real estate market, activate real estate market transactions, improve market activity and asset allocation efficiency, and promote primary and secondary real estate. A virtuous cycle of market transactions.” Wang Yong, general manager of the Southwest Region of China Central Index Academy, said.
Chongqing’s sales restriction policy dates back to 2017.
In 2017, Chongqing’s property market continued to heat up. In order to implement the positioning of housing and housing without speculation, Chongqing requires newly purchased commercial housing and second-hand housing in the central Urban area to obtain a real estate certificate for two years before they can be listed and traded.
With the major changes in the supply and demand relationship in the real estate market, in September 2023, Chongqing adjusted the sales restriction conditions to “two years after obtaining the housing sales contract filing certificate and obtaining the real estate certificate before listing and trading.”
After 2024, Chongqing’s sales restriction policy will be further relaxed. In May of that year, Chongqing adjusted the sales restriction conditions to that newly built commercial housing for existing housing sales could be listed and traded after completing the online contract signing and filing and obtaining the real estate certificate; in September, it was loosened again. Anyone who purchased new commercial housing and second-hand housing in the central Urban area (subject to the online signing filing time) could be listed and traded after obtaining the real estate certificate.
“Chongqing has completely lifted sales restrictions this time, indicating that the houses purchased by buyers can be listed and traded as long as they have real estate titles.” Wang Yong said.
“Eliminating the sales restriction policy will help promote a virtuous cycle in the new and second-hand housing markets. The activity of the second-hand housing market will drive sales in the new home market, because it is easier for buyers to re-trade after purchasing a second-hand home, thereby increasing the purchase demand for new homes.” A real estate industry analyst pointed out.
In terms of the performance of the new housing market, Kerui data shows that in January 2025, the transaction area of new commercial residential buildings in Chongqing was 290,000 square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 16%, but an increase of 2% compared with the Spring Festival last year (February 2024).
Compared with the new housing market, which has continued to shrink in recent years, the second-hand housing market in Chongqing’s central Urban area has a high number of transactions.
According to data from the China Index Institute, since 2019, the transaction area of second-hand commercial residential buildings in Chongqing’s central Urban area has stabilized at more than 10 million square meters; in 2024, 108,000 units were sold, with a transaction area of 11.087 million square meters, a year-on-year increase of 2.7%.
“Considering that during the implementation of the sales restriction policy, the number of listings sold in the early period has been released one after another, it is expected that after the policy is introduced, the listing volume in the Chongqing second-hand housing market will steadily increase, and the market popularity will continue to heat up.” Wang Yong said.
In fact, just the day before the complete lifting of sales restrictions, Chongqing also adjusted the property tax pilot policy.
On February 7, the General Office of the People’s Government of Chongqing City issued a notice on “Several Policies and Measures for Chongqing City to Promote Sustained Economic Improvement.” In terms of real estate, Chongqing will improve the city’s personal housing property tax pilot policy and no longer include the purchase of ordinary houses by people outside the city in the scope of taxation; promote the expansion and efficiency of “white list” projects in the urban real estate financing coordination mechanism, and support financial asset management companies. Acquisition of non-performing loans for difficult real estate projects, etc.
Analysts believe that the lifting of sales restrictions and the adjustment of property tax policies are both implementing relevant guidance for Chongqing’s “First New Year Meeting”.
It is reported that leaders of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee pointed out at the “First New Year Meeting” on February 5 that they must “make every effort to promote the stabilization and recovery of the real estate and construction industries.”
Wang Yong believes that Chongqing is expected to continue to take relevant measures to promote the stable development of the real estate market.