China Shifts Real Estate Strategy, Granting Cities More Power to Tackle Housing Glut

`keyword`China`keyword` has pledged to empower its municipal governments with greater autonomy in `stat`2026`stat`, allowing them to enact city-specific measures to clear housing gluts and optimize supply. The move signals a significant shift in Beijing's strategy to stabilize a real estate market that remains a persistent drag on the world’s second-`largest` economy.

A Pivot to Localized Solutions

At a recent two-day work conference, `keyword`Ni Hong`keyword`, the minister of housing and urban-rural development, stated, “Municipal governments should fully utilise their autonomy in regulating the property market, adjusting and optimising policies as appropriate.” This directive marks a departure from top-down, one-size-fits-all mandates, empowering local officials to tailor policies to their unique market conditions.

The policy change is part of ramped-up efforts to address the property crisis, which has seen major developers default and housing sales plummet. For years, analysts have pointed out that policies designed for megacities like Beijing and Shanghai often don't work for smaller, lower-tier cities grappling with entirely different economic realities and housing inventories.

Tackling a Persistent Economic Drag

The real estate sector, once a primary engine of `keyword`China`keyword`'s growth, has become its most significant headwind. Despite previous government stimulus measures, consumer confidence has remained weak, and a vast oversupply of housing continues to suppress prices and deter investment.

By granting local autonomy, Beijing hopes that cities will be more agile in responding to their specific challenges. This could lead to a variety of measures, from relaxing home-purchase restrictions to offering new subsidies, in a more targeted and effective manner than centrally-planned interventions have allowed.