Shanghai pilot purchases existing second-hand houses, expands the supply of affordable rental housing.

At the beginning of this year, Shanghai officially started the pilot work of purchasing existing second-hand houses for use as affordable rental housing, with Pudong, Xuhui, and Jing'an districts taking the lead. As of now, a total of 523 units have been purchased. It is understood that Xuhui district has already purchased 463 second-hand houses, and the houses will be available for rent as early as September. To address the difficulties of the "long cycle of selling old and buying new, high financial pressure, and multiple procedural risks," Xuhui district has adopted a housing ticket mechanism. The old houses of residents are standardized purchased by district-owned enterprises, with no agency fees, secure transactions, and stable returns. The purchase funds enter a regulated account in the form of "housing tickets," earmarked for specific use, with a validity period of 1 year, achieving "quick disposal of old houses and smooth purchase of new houses." Currently, in addition to Pudong, Xuhui, and Jing'an districts, Huangpu, Changning, Hongkou, Putuo, and Yangpu districts have all started purchasing second-hand houses for rental housing projects. After the purchased housing units are standardized and renovated, they will be integrated into the rental housing system, with rents below market levels.