Li: Tailored policies to reduce excess inventory in real estate

China will continue to cut excess inventory in the property market by implementing policies tailored to local conditions, Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday.

While delivering the Government Work Report to the top legislature, Li said there is still excess inventory in the country’s smaller cities and the government will make effort to support the residents’ housing demand as well as the purchasing demand of people who migrate into the cities.

Li said the government will reasonably increase the land supply in the cities that have seen surging housing prices.

Meanwhile, the government will continue to renovate the run-down urban areas as there are still tens of millions of people living in poor housing conditions, Li said. The government will complete 6 million housing units for those areas, according to Li.

According to the 2017 draft plan for national economic and social development, the government will make further efforts to grand direct monetary housing compensation and move faster to implement the plan for granting urban residency to 100 million people living in the urban areas.

The government will also support the demand of urban residents for buying a second home if their first homes are inadequate and ensure well-regulated development of the housing rental market.

Sticking to the principle that "houses are for habitation not speculation", the government will fully utilize financial, land, fiscal, tax and investment policies as well as legislation to establish a long-term mechanism to ensure the steady and healthy development of the real estate industry, according to the plan.