The Chinese real estate market continues to be sluggish. In recent years, various stimulating measures have been introduced from the central government to local authorities, but their effects have been limited. Starting in mid-November, under the request of the Shanghai Cyberspace Administration, social media platforms cleared over 40,000 pieces of information, more than 70,000 real estate-related accounts, and over 1,200 live streaming rooms that were deemed to be “detracting from the property market”. Netizens mocked the move, “Does silencing a crowing rooster mean the day won’t dawn?”
According to reports from mainland Chinese media on December 2nd, the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China Cyberspace Administration, through its WeChat public account “Shanghai Cyberspace,” announced that on November 14th, they, along with the Municipal Housing Administration and the Public Security Bureau’s Network Security Division, initiated a special action to “regulate the dissemination of real estate information online”. They “guided” platforms like Xiaohongshu and Bilibili to self-check and clear over 40,000 pieces of so-called “detracting from the property market” and “misinterpreting” real estate policies as “violations of laws and regulations and dissemination of negative information,” handled over 70,000 accounts, and shut down over 1,200 “irregular” live streaming rooms.
The announcement stated that they will regularly issue governance notices, and the Municipal Cyberspace Administration, along with relevant departments, will continue to maintain a high-pressure management posture, increase efforts to combat the “disorder” in the real estate network sphere, and regulate the order of disseminating real estate information online.
This news immediately sparked online attention.
Real estate blogger and Weibo influencer “Beyond Property Prices” sarcastically commented, “Alright, the property market is being detracted.”
Financial blogger and Weibo influencer “Snowball Lanshan 520” said, “Baijiu (Chinese liquor) and the property market are birds of a feather. Someone forwarded me this news yesterday, reminding me to be cautious about being labeled as detracting from the property market. Can’t everyone see the truth? Do I really need to ‘detract’ from it? I’m just stating the facts. Does silencing a crowing rooster mean the day won’t dawn?”
Commenting users said, “But we love to hear the crowing rooster. Rooster, take care of yourself.” “Not hearing the crowing is our biggest risk, so the rooster needs to take care of itself.” “It reminds me of that line: Can the truth be told?” “Deceptive practices.” “In this special period, we can only see the results first. If the signal is blocked, everyone will lose out.”
Esports blogger and Weibo influencer “Wang Weichen” said, “It scared me, I just checked my Weibo and deleted all posts related to the property market.”
Coincidentally, in September of this year, the Beijing Real Estate Brokerage Industry Association issued an appeal, requiring industry peers not to detract, not to short the market, not to spread exaggerated statements about the risks of the real estate market, or create market panic, and stated that the real estate market is currently in a crucial phase of stabilizing after a decline, with real estate services, market information, and market stability being closely linked.
The latest data shows that the prices of second-hand homes, which better reflect the direction of the real estate market than new home prices, have been falling continuously for 43 months.
A report released by the Zhongzhi Research Institute on December 1st shows that in November, the prices of second-hand homes in one hundred cities fell year-on-year and month-on-month, with the decline continuing to widen. Second-hand home prices have been falling for 43 consecutive months. Regarding new homes, in November, overall market supply remains low, with high-end improvement projects entering the market in cities like Shanghai, Chengdu, and Hangzhou, driving up the average prices of new residential properties in core cities.
According to reports from “Yicai,” although the price structure in the new home market has seen a structural increase, sales market pressure still exists.
As of November, the number of real estate enterprises with sales exceeding 100 billion for the year is 8, a decrease of 1 compared to the same period last year, with an average sales amount of 171.04 billion yuan; there are 6 real estate companies with sales between 50 billion and 100 billion, a decrease of 2 compared to the same period last year, with an average sales amount of 75.53 billion yuan; there are 7 real estate companies with sales between 30 billion and 50 billion, a decrease of 9 compared to the same period last year, with an average sales amount of 39.38 billion yuan; and there are 45 real estate companies with sales between 10 billion and 30 billion, an increase of 2 compared to the same period last year.