CHINA plans to renovate 6 million run-down urban houses in 2016, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development disclosed at a work conference yesterday.
The program is a crucial way of providing low-income urban residents with affordable housing. China has a target of renovating 5.8 million homes in 2015, and in the first 10 months work began on 5.75 million units. The aim is to complete renewal of all run-down urban areas and dilapidated housing by 2020.
Yesterday’s meeting also highlighted destocking housing inventories as a major task for 2016.
The ministry said it will improve control of the property market, and encourage real estate companies to merge and restructure.
China’s property market took a downturn in 2014 due to weak demand and a supply glut. This cooling continued into 2015, with sales and prices falling, and investment slowing.
To combat the market weakness and a broader economic slowdown, China’s central bank cut benchmark interest rates five times and lowered banks’ reserve requirement.
