FROM PRESALES TO COMPLETED-HOME SALES

　　One key part of the reform is a stronger push to promote sales of completed commercial homes, an effort aimed at better protecting homebuyers' rights and reducing risks associated with home delivery.

　　The reform marks a shift away from a business model centered on presales and rapid turnover, steering property developers away from an excessive focus on scale expansion and toward improving the quality of housing and services.

　　Wu Jing, head of center for real estate at Tsinghua University, said China's commercial housing presale system, introduced in the 1990s, helped broaden funding channels for developers and rapidly increase housing supply at a time when urban housing was in short supply.

　　But as the supply-demand dynamics of the property market have changed, China's housing development has shifted from addressing whether homes are available to focusing more on how good they are, making corresponding adjustments to the housing sales system necessary, Wu said.

　　Against this backdrop, the late-August document on improving the commercial housing sales system calls for a strong and orderly push to promote sales of completed homes. The approach allows buyers to "get what they see," while helping reduce delivery disputes, prevent delivery risks and protect homebuyers' legitimate rights and interests.

　　Experts said that as the market moves toward structural oversupply, the drawbacks of a presale system that leaves homebuyers facing uncertainty over both delivery timing and housing quality have become increasingly evident. A transition from a presale-dominated system toward one centered more on completed-home sales is therefore an inevitable trend.

　　RESHAPING PROPERTY FINANCING