Written by: Leju Finance Liu Zhiying

This National Day Golden Week, the marketing focus of real estate enterprises still fell on prices.

But it's not a fancy discount, but a notice of price increase.

Midea Real Estate released a poster announcing that a 2% home purchase discount on all properties currently on sale nationwide will be fully retracted from October 8;

New Hope Real Estate announced that the 2% discount on its main sales projects will be fully retracted on October 10;

China Resources Land Beijing announced that after October 8, all properties currently on sale in Beijing will be increased by 2% based on the current price;

China Construction First Brand released a poster announcing that from October 8, discounts on its Huaxiang No. 1, Yihe Mansion, Yujing Xingcheng, Yujing Xingcheng Yuanqi, and Daxing Xingguangcheng will be retracted by 2%...

In addition, state-owned enterprise Poly Developments and Holdings Group Co., Ltd. fired the first shot in "price protection." Several city projects under Poly Developments and Holdings Group Co., Ltd. have recently announced "price protection plans," such as the "Poly Tianjun" project in Wenzhou, which announced, "If the same type of housing (residential only) in the Tianjun project has a later online signing sales discount lower than the buyer's current discount (compared to the filing price), or there are any disguised discounts in the form of additional gifts such as property management fees, parking spaces, home decoration packages, etc., the house can be returned without reason (interest on the house price is not included)."

Regarding the retraction of price discounts, Midea Real Estate said that the recent package of favorable policies introduced by the government has had a positive impact on the real estate market, improving market expectations and customer confidence, and the company is firmly responding to the national requirements for stopping the decline and stabilizing the market.

An informed source revealed that the reason why the price increase was not directly stated was that the price can be packaged, while the discount is real and tangible, and customers can perceive it truly.

After all, for most home buyers, buying a house is a major life exam. Compared to "chasing the rise and selling the fall," more people may prefer to "buy at the bottom and sell at the top." Although the underlying logic of both is the same, the latter places more emphasis on stability.

Industry insiders pointed out that whether it is "price protection" or "price increase," it is just a kind of marketing rhetoric, with the main purpose of stabilizing home buyers' expectations and reducing their concerns about falling house prices. It is expected that subsequent new home prices will gradually stabilize.

In terms of the market, during the National Day holiday, the number of visits and subscriptions to real estate projects in core cities generally increased significantly compared to before the holiday, and the transaction volume of some projects has exceeded the entire month of September, indicating a clear sign of stabilization in the real estate market.

Yan Yuejin, deputy dean of the Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute, said that announcing price increases or retracting discounts is a pricing strategy adopted by real estate enterprises in response to market changes, which can also be understood as a marketing strategy adopted by developers under improved sales conditions and enhanced customer accumulation capabilities. Under the expectation of buying on the rise and not buying on the decline, stabilizing or slightly raising prices can help attract more home buying demand.

Yan Yuejin believes that the regulatory authority's statement of "stopping the decline and stabilizing the market" in the real estate market refers to both quantity and price. At present, there is a characteristic of the price increases of some real estate enterprises, which is not a direct price increase but the cancellation of the original price discount, and the price is generally stable. At present, the situation of market differentiation will still occur. Price increases are related to some real estate enterprises with high-quality projects, and some real estate enterprises will still have large discounts and concessions with sincerity.

Li Yujia, chief researcher of the Housing Policy Research Center of Guangdong Urban Planning and Design Institute, pointed out that if leading enterprises take the lead in "price protection" and "return without reason," it will help stabilize prices on the supply side. The recent decline in housing prices is largely due to the fact that real estate enterprises are competing to lower prices, leading to market expectations that housing prices will continue to decline and Watch and see . This is not only detrimental to market sales but also exacerbates expectations of falling house prices.

It is worth mentioning that recently, the regulatory authorities have continuously launched major initiatives to effectively inject confidence into the real estate market. First, the People's Bank of China issued a "big gift" package of policies to stabilize the real estate market, including reducing reserve requirements, interest rates, and mortgage interest rates. Subsequently, the Political Bureau Meeting of the CPC Central Committee proposed for the first time to "promote the stabilization of the real estate market." Then, first-tier cities Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen issued relaxed policies for the real estate market, with Guangzhou implementing the most forceful policy by fully lifting purchase restrictions and becoming the first first-tier city to completely withdraw purchase restrictions.

At yesterday's press conference held by the State Council Information Office, Zheng Shanjie, Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, mentioned promoting the stabilization of the real estate market when discussing specific measures to systematically implement a package of incremental policies.

Adopt systematic and comprehensive measures to strictly control the increment, optimize the stock, and improve the quality of commercial housing construction. Increase lending for "white list" projects, use special bonds and other means to support the revitalization of idle land, adjust housing purchase restrictions, release rigid and improved housing demand, accelerate the digestion of stock commercial housing, reduce the interest rate on stock mortgages, promptly improve land, tax, finance, and other policies, and accelerate the construction of a new model for real estate development. Policies such as reducing the interest rate on stock mortgages have already been introduced. Some cities have fully lifted purchase restrictions, while others have further narrowed the scope of purchase restrictions and relaxed the conditions. Other policies are also being actively planned and promoted.